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jForest  "mtilisation. 

TO  THE  READER. 

The  Biltmore  Forest  School  has  offered  annually,  since  1898,  a 
coinse  of  lectures  on  Forest  Utilization— a  vast  topic  comprising  every 
art,  every  industry,  all  activity  connected  with  the  utilization  of  our 
■woods. 

If  forestry  is  and  means  a  business,  then  it  is  safe  to  say  that  forest 
utilization  comprises  the  major— the  by  far  major— part  of  the  American 
forester's  activity,  provided  that  the  term  "forester"  describes  a  man 
placed    in    charge   of   a    forest   and   of   its   administration. 

There  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  American  forest  utilization  is  con- 
ducted on  the  grandest,  most  ingenious  scale-  which  the  world  ever 
knev/.  The  conditions  surrounding  and  bearing  it  are  entirely  at  variance 
from  those  now  confronting  the  European  -forester.  It  is  not  to  be 
vvondered  at.  consequently,  that  little  knowledge  of  American  forest 
utilization  can  be  gathered  from  European  handbooks  on  European 
forest    utilization    or    from    European    travels. 

Like  all  disciplines  of  forestry,  forest  utilization  had  best  be  studied 
in  and  near  the  woods.  Lectures  delivered  at  i  forest  school,  unless 
they  be  continuously  illustrated  by  object  lessons  in  the  forest  and  in 
the  workshop,  can  merely  lay  a  bare  foundation  of  the  topic  in  the 
mind,   or  rather  in  the  memory  of  the   student. 

The  pages  herewith  submitted  are  printed  primarily  for  the  use  of 
the  students  attending  the  Biltmore  Forest  School ;  they  comprise  the 
dictation  given  by  the  teacher  during  and  after  lectures;  they  are  a 
skeleton  of  lectures  merely,  and  it  is  the  teacher's  task  to  clothe  the 
skeleton  with  flesh,  obtained  from  his  practical  experience  in  the  Amer- 
ican  woods. 

There  is  'ample  reason  to  believe  that  one-sided  and  local  experience 
has  allowed  a  number  of  mistakes  to  creep  into  the  following  paragraphs. 
The  Biltmore  Forest  School  begs  to  be  corrected  by  the  reader,  and 
any  suggestions  relative  to  errors  and  erroneous  statements  contained 
in  this  little  publication  will   be  most  thankfully  received. 

Aside  from  the  entire  literature  on  forest  utilization  available  in 
America  and  abroad,  liberal  use  has  been  made  of  communications 
appearing  in  all  of  the  leading  trade  papers;  of  the  catalogues  issued 
by  the  leading  firms  manufacturing  implements  for  forest  utilization; 
of  the  experience  of  the  rangers  and  foremen  of  the  Biltmore  Estate ; 
of  information  privately  obtained  through  correspondence, 
^lost   truly, 

C.    A.    SCHENCK,    Ph.D., 

Director  Biltmore  Forest  School  and  Forester  to  the  Biltmore  Estate. 
Biltmore,  N.  C,  Sept.  i,  1904. 

(I) 


jforest  latilisation, 


§  I.     Definition. 
§  2.     Literature. 


PART  I.     LOGGING  OPERATIONS. 

CHAPTER  I.      LABOR  EMPLOYED  IN   LOGGING. 

§  3.     Manual  labor. 
§  4.     Aniinal    labor. 

CHAPTER    II.      CUTTING    OPERATIONS. 

§  5.     Woodcutter's  tools  and  implements. 
§  6.     Felling  the  trees. 
§  7.     Dissecting   the   boles. 

CHAPTER    III.       TRANSPORTATION. 

§8.     Transportation   on  land,   without   vehicles. 

§  9.     Transportation  by  water. 

5  10.     Transportation  on  land,  by  and  on  vehicles. 

§  II.     Choice   between   the    various    systems    of    transportation. 

PART  II.  MANUFACTURE  OF  WOOD  PRODUCTS. 

CHAPTER    IV.      FOUNDATIONS    OF    MANUFACTURE. 

§  12.  The  American  forester  as  a  lumberman. 

§  13.  Motive  power. 

§  14.  Transmission  of  power. 

§  15.  Technical  use  made  of  the  trees  by  species. 

§  16.  Technical  qualities  of  the  trees. 

CHAPTER    V.      MANUFACTURING    INDUSTRIES. 


§17. 

Saw  mill. 

§18. 

Woodworking   plant. 

§19. 

Veneering  plant. 

§20. 

Box  factory. 

§21. 

Basket   factory. 

§22. 

Cooperage. 

§23. 

Wagon  works. 

§24. 

Shingle  mills. 

§^5. 

Lath  mills. 

§26. 

Clapboard  mill. 

§27. 

Novelty  mill. 

§28. 

Matches. 

(2) 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

§  29.  Shoe  pegs. 

§  30.  Excelsior  mill. 

§  31.  Manufacture  of  wood  pulp  and  chemical  fibre. 

§  32.  Tannery. 

§  2,2-  Charcoal. 

§34.  Lampblack  and  brewer's  pitch. 

§  35-  Pyroligneous   acid   and   wood   alcohol. 

§  36.  True  aethyl   alcohol. 

§  27.  Artificial  silk. 

§  38.  Oxalic  acid. 

§  39.  Maple   sugar. 

?  40.  Naval    stores. 

§  41.  Vanillin. 

§  42.  Beechnut  oil. 

§  43.  Pine   leaf  hair. 

§  44.  Impregnation. 


FOREST  UTILIZATION. 

§  I.      DEFINITION-. 

The  term  "forest  utilization"  comprises  all  acts  by  which  forests — 
the  immobile  produce  of  nature — are  converted  into  movable  goods 
or  commodities.  Considered  as  a  science  or  as  an  art,  forest  utilization 
constitutes  the  major  part  of  forestry  now  practiced  in  our  new  country, 
abounding  in  forests. 

As  a  discipline,  forest  utilization  may  be  divided  into  two  main 
parts,  namely:  "logging  operations"  and  "manufacture,"  arranged  in 
the  following  five  chapters : 

Chapter       I.     Labor  employed  in  the  forest. 

Chapter    IL     Cutting   operations. 

Chapter  IIL     Transportation. 

Chapter  IV.     Foundations    of    manufacture. 

Chapter    V.     Manufacturing    industries. 

§  II.      LITERATURE. 

There  exists,  unfortunately,  no  handbook  on  American  forest 
utilization,  although  forest  utilization  shows  a  higher  development  in 
the  United  States  than  in  any  other  country. 

Among  the  foreign  literature  on  forest  utilization,  publications  0/ 
the   following  authors  are   particularly  worthy   of  note : 

Carl  Gayer,  Richard  Hess,  William  Schlich,  Hermann  Stoetzer, 
Carl  Grebe,  Wilhelm  Franz  Exner,  Carl  Schuberg,  Heinrich  Semler, 
H.  von  Noerdlinger,  Carl  Dotzel,  E.  E.  Fernandez,  L.  Boppe,  M.  Powis 
Bale. 


part  fl.    Xoooina  Operations. 

CHAPTER  I.     LABOR  EMPLOYED  IN  THE  FOREST. 

§111.       MANUAL    LABOR. 

A.  Duration  of  employment. 

I.  Determining  factors  are: 

(a)  Climatic  conditions ; 

(b)  Economic  conditions ; 

(c)  Local  custom. 

In  the   South,   work  lasts   all   the  year   round. 

In   the   Lake   States  and   in   New  England,    late   fall,    winter  and 

early   spring    (from   four  to   eight  months)    comprise   the   usual 

period   of   activity. 
In  the  European  mountains,   logging  is   restricted  to  the   summer 

months ;  in  the  European  lowlands,  to  the  winter  months. 

II.  Advisability  of  continuous  employment  in  conservative  forestry, 
especially  in  the  case  of  foremen  and  sub-foremen,  leads  to  the 
adoption  of  means  tending  to  attach  the  laborer  to  his  job  and 
to  his  employer. 

Such  means  are : 

(a)  Advances  for  tools. 

(b)  Rent  of  cabins  and  fanns  at  reduced  rates. 

(c)  Help  in  case  of  sickness  and  accidents. 

(d)  Wholesale  purchase  of  victuals  so  as  to  give  the  work- 

men the  benefit  of  a  reduced  price. 

(e)  Firewood,  forest  pasture  and  forest  litter  free  of  charge. 

(f)  Permission  of  agricultural  use,   for  a  number  of  years. 

of  clear  cut  areas.     (This  last  system  is  called  in  India 
"tongya.") 

(g)  Employment  during  the  season  when  cutting  is  stopped, 

in  road  building,  fire  patrol,  planting,  weeding,  nursery 
work  etc. 
(h)     Possibility  for  hands  to  rise  to  a  foreman's  position, 
(i).    Encouragement   of   home    industries    so   as   to   keep   the 
workmen   busy   on   rainy   or   cold   days,   i.    e.,   basket 
.  weaving,  shingle  making,  wood  carving,  sieve  making. 
It    seems  most  important  to   supply  the   family  of  the 
w-oodworker  with  a  comfortable  home  and  school  and 
church  advantages. 

B.  Remuneration. 

I.     Means  of  remuneration. 

(a)  Money.  Wages  in  the  South  are  from  50  to  75  cents  a 
day.  At  Biltmore,  now  $1  per  day,  even  in  the  moun- 
tains. On  the  Pacific  coast,  $2  to  $3  per  day.  In 
Lake  States,  $18  to  $32  per  month,  plus  board  ;  dry 
days  only  included. 

(4) 


.     rOKE:^!    L'TJLIZATIUX  5 

(b)  Commissary  bills.     This  method  of  payment  is  used  in 

the  South  only,  in  connection  with  colored  labor. 

(c)  Privileges  (house,  farm,  pasture). 

(d)  Board.     Expense  at  Biltmore,  per  capita,  25c  to  30c;    in 

Lake    States,   40c  to  50c   per  day.     Wages   of   camp 
cooks   in   Lake    States,   $50    and    over    per    month ; 
at  Biltmore,  $15  to  $30  per  month. 
Victuals    required    per    capita,    see    "Lumber    and    Log 
Book,"  page  144. 
Scale  of  remuneration. 
Wages    depend  on   the  effect    of  labor   or   on   the   values    created 

by  labor. 
Influencing   factors   are: 

(a)  Density  of  population. 

(b)  Human  strength  and  technical  skill  required. 

(c)  Silvicultural   understanding  required. 

(d)  Hardships  endured  and  risks  taken. 

(e)  Prices  of  the  necessary  victuals. 

(f)  Length   of   day   during   cutting   season.      Compare   page 

162,  "Lumber  and  Log  Book." 
Where  contract  work  prevails,  the  following  additional 
factors  come  into  play : 

(g)  Tools   supplied  by  employer  or  employee, 
(h)     Softwoods  or  hardwoods. 

(i)     Amount  to  be  cut  per  acre. 

(j)     Configuration  of  ground  and  remoteness  from  roads. 

(k)     Distance  from  home  village. 

(1)      Possibility  of   continuing  work   during  rain. 

Experiments  have  shown  that  workmen  paid  under  con- 
tract per  one  thousand  feet  b.  m.  earn  more  money  in 
big  timber  than  in  small  timber,  and  that  a  system  of 
payment  according  to  the  diameter  of  the  log  is  far 
more  just. 
Method  of  emploj-ment. 
In    France    the    woodworkers   are   employed    by    the    purchaser     of 
stumpage;     in   Germanj%   invariably  by  the   owner   of   the    forest. 
In    America,    both    systems    are    found,     the     former     prevailing. 
Whether  the  German  or   French   system   is  preferable  is  an  open 
question. 

I.     Hands  are  usually  recruited  from  farm  laborers,  hence  advisa- 
bility of  locally  combining  agriculture  and  forestry.     In  addition, 
the  employees  of  the  building  trades,  unoccupied  during   winter, 
supply  help  for  the  lumber  camp. 
II.     Day  work  is  advisable  in  preference  to  contract  work 

(a)  Where  quality  (effect)  of  labor  cannot  be  controlled,  nota- 

bly in  nursery  \vork ; 

(b)  Where  experienced  hands  must  be  trained; 

(c)  Where  contract  labor  cannot  be  obtained    (Pacific  coast)  ; 


rOREST    UTILIZATION    - 

(d)     Where  contract  legislation  is  bad.     (Lien  laws  in  Minne- 
sota;   $i.5CO  exemption  clause  in  North  Carolina.) 
III.     Contract   work  is   generally  preferable  to  day  work  because 
it    is   cheaper.     Contract    work    is"  doubly   advisable   where   em- 
ployer's  liability   laws    work   against    the    employer.     Contracts 
should  always  be  in  writing.     The  specification  sheet  should  be 
kept  apart  from  the  paragraphs  of  agreement,  so  as  not  to  en- 
cumber the  contract. 
The  main  clauses  of  a  contract  cover : 

(a)  Time  allowed  to  complete  work; 

(b)  Installments   and   payments; 

(c)  Building  of   snaking  roads,  sleigh  roads  and   skidways ; 

(d)  Scaling  of  defective  logs  and  of  sound  logs; 

(e)  Employer's  liability ; 

(f  )     Fines  for  fire,  stock  at  large,  fishing,  hunting  and  drunken- 
ness, and  demand  for  discharge  of  culprits ; 
(g)     Shanties   and   log   houses   and   commissary  bills ; 
(h)     Supply  of  tools;    deduction  for  loss  and  spoliation  of  tools; 
(i  )     Fines    for    cutting    trees    not    marked    or    of    too    small    a 

diameter ; 
(j  )     Fines  for  leaving  marked  trees  uncut ; 
(k)     Fines  for  poor  work  and  unnecessary  damage; 
(1  )     Possibility  of  speedy  termination  of  contract  in  emergency 

cases ; 
(m)     Nomination  of  umpire  to  avoid  suits  in  case  of  discrepan- 
cies. 
The  specifications  cover  the  following  points  : 
Height  of  stumps;    peeling  of  bark;    separating  product  accord- 
ing  to  quality;    length,   diameter,   weight   of  product;     nosing 
logs;    cutting  defects   out    (unsound   knots  etc.);    placing  the 
product  on  sticks   (so  as  to  allow  it  to  dry)   or.  on  skidways; 
method  of  carrying  or  moving  products;    swamping   (removal 
of  branches)  ;    use  of  road  poles    (breast  works)  ;    skidways ; 
road  building. 
D.     Subdivision   of   labor. 

The  leading  principle  is  that  one  division  gang  must  push  the  other. 
I.     Lumbering. 

(a)  Cutting  or  felling  crews,  consisting  usually  of  two  hands; 

sometimes   a    third   man   to   drive    wedges   and   to   make 
the  axe  cut. 

(b)  Log    makers,    dissecting    the    bole    into    logs.      A    foreman 

should  be  an  ex-sawyer  or  an  ex-lumber  inspector. 

(c)  Swamping   crew,   to   clear   trees    of   branches   and   to   open 

suspicious  knots. 

(d)  Snaking    crew — at    Biltmore    five    hands    for    a    three-yoke 

team ;    three  men  to  get  the  logs  ready  and  to  remove 
brush    (debris)    and  two  men  to  accompany  the  load. 

(e)  Skidway  crew — two  hands  rolling  logs  onto  skidways. 


l-OREST    UTILIZATION  7 

(f)     Road  crew — meant  to  prepare  snaking  or  sleigh  roads;    to 
sprinkle  and  sand  ice  roads. 
II.     Firewood  or  cordwood  making   (for  pulp,  distillation,  cooper- 
age etc.). 
a,  b,  and  c  are  the  same  as  in  "I. — a,  b  and  c." 

(d)  Carriers  or  carrying  crew — often  with  hand  sleighs  or  roll- 

ers or  grapple  hooks. 

(e)  Splitters — with    heavy    axes    which    have    broader,    thicker 

cheeks   than   cutting  axes. 

(f)  Piling   crew — a    very    careful,    honest    man    is    required    for 

piling  the  wood. 

§  IV.       ANIMAL    LABOR. 

A.  Countries. 

In  Europe,  even  in  virgin  forests,  practically  none  is  required.  In 
India  and  possibly  in  the  Philippines,  elephants  are  used. 

In  the  United  States,  in  the  Southern  and  Pacific  States,  as  also  in  the 
Appalachians,  oxen  are  used.  In  the  Lake  States,  Pacific  States  and 
New  England  States,  horses  are  preferred.  In  the  South,  mules 
are  used  for  small  logs  and  especially  on  tram  roads. 

B.  Horses. 

I.  The  numerical  ratio  between  hands  and  horses  in  Northern  camps 

varies  from  2  to  i  to  6  to  i. 
The  standard  amount  of  work  for  one  horse  is  : 

(a)  A  haul   of   1,600  lbs.   inclusive   of   wagon,   on   a   level   road 

over  22,  miles  per  day. 

(b)  An  output  of  2/3  horsepower  per  minute,  equal  to  320  horse- 

power per  day  of  eight  hours. 

II.  Horses  are  employed  for 

(a)  Skidding  or  snaking. 

(b)  Rolling  logs  on  skidways. 

(c)  Sleighing,    trucking     (two    wheels)     and    wagoning     (four 

wheels). 

(d)  Go-deviling. 

(e)  Loading   on    railroad    cars. 

(f)  Supplying  power  for  portable  mills. 
HI.     Food  for  horses. 

(a)  Interdependence    between    feed    and    effect    in    foot    pounds 

per  1,000  lbs.  horse  flesh  during  a  day's  work  is: 

Straw     2  lbs.  2  lbs.  2  lbs. 

Hay    19  lbs.  15  lbs.  nibs. 

Oats     2  lbs.  6  lbs.  10  lbs. 

Effect     3.000,000      9,ooG,oco     15,000,000 

(b)  Food   required. 

After  Thaer,  per   1,000  lbs.  of  horse  flesh,  25  lbs.  of  good 

hay  and  oats. 
After  the  "Lumber  and  Log  Book,"  50  lbs.  of  oats  and  40 

lbs.  of  hay  per  team  per  day. 


FOREST    UTILIZATIOX 

(c)     Feed  values  equivalent  to  ico  lbs.  of  good  hay.  after  Has- 
well,  are 
z=    54  lbs.  of  barley. 
=    57  lbs.  of  oats. 
=    59  lbs.  of  corn. 
=  275  lbs.  of  green  corn. 
=  374  lbs.  of  wheat  straw. 
=  4CO  lbs.  of  cornstalks. 

C.  Mules. 

I.  They  are  employed  for : 

(a)  Light  logs  on  good  ground  and  for  long  distances. 

(b)  For  wagoning  lumber  and  provisions. 

(c)  For  hauling  on  rail  tracks  (wooden  and  iron  rails). 

(d)  For  hoisting  logs  on   inclines. 

(e)  For  plowing   and   scraping  in   road   and   railroad   building. 

II.  Food  for  i,ooo  lbs.  mule  flesh,  as  for  horses. 

Mules  require  less  care  than  horses,  taking  care  of  themselves 
and  resisting  overwork.  They  arc  frequently  not  fed  at 
noon.      (Price  per  team  at  Biltmorc,  $200.) 

D.  Oxen. 

I.  Price  per  yoke  is  from  $80  to  $120,  weight  from  2,oco  to  2,500  lbs. 
Ox  yokes   form  the   rule,   although   efficiency  of   oxen  in  harness   is 

superior.  Shoeing  for  each  claw  separately — difficult  and  risky, 
but  necessary  on  hard  ground. 

Special  training  takes  place  from  second  year  on.  Fitness  for  hard 
work  begins  in  the  fifth  year,  when  ossification  of  bones  is  com- 
pleted. 

Special  training   for  leaders. 

II.  Employment. 

In  the  South  for  snaking  heavy  logs — or  log  trains  in  Oregon  ;  for 
hauling  logs  suspended  underneath  high  two-wdieel  trucks  in  the 
pineries ;    rarely  for  loading  cars  or  wagons. 

III.  Standard  work. 

An  ox  walks  14  miles  per  day  with  load.  An  ox  yields  in  eight 
hours  of  work  270  horsepower,  hence  he  produces  only  four- 
fifths  of  the  effect  of  a  horse. 

After  Thaer,  an  ox  produces  only  one-hslf  as  much  power  as  a 
horse  of  the  same  weight. 

IV.  Feed. 

(a)  It   is  much  cheaper  to  feed  oxen  per  i,oco  lbs.  living  weight 

than  to  feed  horses  of  same  weight. 
Ruminants   have   four   stomachs   and   thus   digest   their   food 
better.     No  feed  is  given  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  no 
expense  is  incurred  during   idle  periods,   where  pasture   is 
available. 

(b)  Careful    treatment    and    good    staliles    required.      Oxen    must 

not   be   hurried.      Soft    yokes,    proper    salting   and    regular 
watering. 


rORESr    UTILIZATIUX  9 

(c)  In  the  South,  at  the  present  time,  cottonseed  meal  and  hulls 
form  the  cheapest  food.  Food  requirements  per  yoke  per 
day  are  25  lbs.  of  meal  and  40  lbs.  of  hulls.  Present  prices 
of  meal  $25  per  ton  and  hulls  $8  per  ton,  delivered  at 
Brevard.  X.  C. 

CHAPTER  II.  CUTTING  OPERATIONS. 

§  V.     woodsmen's    tools   and   implements. 

A.  Axe.  It  consists  of  a  handle,  32  inches  to  42  inches  long,  made 
of  hickory,  ash,  locust  or  mulberry,  either  straight  or  "S''  curved, 
and  of  a  blade  or  head  forming  a  steel  wedge  of  particular  temper. 
The  cheeks  of  the  wedge  are  slightly  curved  in  the  midst,  falling 
down  gradually  towards  the  upper  and  lower  line.  The  weight  lies 
either  close  to  the  bit  or  close  to  the  handle,  according  to  local 
predilection. 

The  best  make  is  the  Kelly  axe. 

Double   bit   axes,    requiring   straight   handles,    are   largely   used   in    the 

Northeast.      Special    splitting   axes,    of   greater   weight    and   broader 

cheeks,  are  rarely  used  (for  sugar  barrel  bolts  and  retort  wood). 

For  hardwood,  a  thin  and  light  axe  (a  cutting  axe)  is  preferred,  while 

for  softwood  a  broad  and  heavy  axe  is  used   (a  tearing  axe). 

A  box  of  axes  contains  an  assortment)  of  various  weights.     In  Europe 

the  bit  is  relaid  with  steel,  after  wearing  off. 
The  axe  is  used 

I.     For  cutting  trees  entirely  or  partly. 
II.     For  swamping  (axe  to  be  ^  lb.  heavier). 

III.  For  splitting. 

IV.  For  nosing  logs. 

y.     For  driving  wedges. 
Price  of  axes  from  $6  to  $8  a  dozen.     Handles  are  $1  a  dozen. 

B.  Adz  and  broadaxe. 

The  adz  and  broadaxe  are  used  for  trimming  and  barking  export 
logs,  squares,  ties  and  construction  timber.  The  blade  of  the  adz 
stands  at  right  angles  to  the  plane  of  the  sweep  and  has  such 
curvature  as  corresponds  to  the  curve  of  the  sweep  through  the 
air.     The  cutting  edge  is  ground  concave  on  the  inner  side. 

The  broadaxe  is  either  right  or  left  sided,  the  plane  of  the  blade 
forming  an  angle  of  5°  to  10°  with  the  plane  of  the  handle.  The 
handle  is  usually  short,  the  blade  very  heavy  and  wide. 

C.  Peavies. 

The  peavy  is  a  typical  American  tool,  not  used  elsewhere.  The  best 
make  is  Morley  Bros.'  line  of  blue  tools. 

The  hooks  are  distinguished  as  round  bill,  duck  bill  and  chisel  bill 
hooks,  made  of  hammered  steel.  The  socket  is  either  solid  or  con- 
sists of  rings.  The  square  pick  (point)  is  driven  cold  into  the 
round  bored  point  of  the  handle.  The  handle  is  4  to  6  ft.  long, 
straight,  2]4  inches  to  3  inches  through  and  is  made  of  hickory, 
ash,  or  usually  hard  maple.     Price  per  dozen  is  $10  to  $22. 


FORFiST    UTIFIZA TION 

A  peavy  must  answer  the  following  requirements: 
I.     Hook  adapted  to  any  size  log. 
II.     Bill   to  be   so   constructed   as   to  catch   securely   through   any 

layer   of  bark. 
1 1 1.     Proper  length,  greatest  strength  and  low  weight. 
>.     Cant  hooks, 
'i'iie  cant  hook  is  a  peavy,  lacking  the  pick  (point). 
The  socket  consists  of  two  rings  only  joined  by  a  narrow  bar. 
Cant  hooks  are  used  more  in  the  mill  and  yard,  peavies  more  in  the 

woods. 
;.     Cross-cut  saws. 

I.     Radius  experiments  show  a  radius  of  5  feet  2  inches  to  be  best. 
The   straight   drag   saws   require   excessive   strength   and   are 
deficient   in   dust   chambers. 
II.     Width  of  blade. 

It  is  at  the  widest  point  about  SVi  inches.  The  hollow  back 
saws,  a  very  recent  invention,  have  only  about  4  inches 
width  all  through. 

III.  Thickness  of  blade. 

The  back  of  the  saw  is  always  somewhat  thinner  than  the 
gauge  of  the  teeth.  Henry  Disston  gives  the  saw  backs 
4  or  5  gauges  less  thickness  than  tlic  saw  teeth.  Atkins 
gives  the  teeth  "14  gauge."  the  back  at  the  handles  "16 
gauge"  and  at  the  center  of  the  back  "19  gauge." 

IV.  Uniformit}^  of  temper  and  proper  temper  are  obtained  by   spe- 

cial  processes.      No   hammering  of  blades.      Cheeks   are   per- 
fectly  smooth. 
V.     Construction  of  teeth  is  very  variable.     Dust  room  between  the 
teeth  should  be  twice  as  large  as  the  teeth. 

For  hardwoods  more  teeth   are   necessary   than   for   softwoods. 

There   are   two   kinds   of   teeth,   namely : 

(a)  The   cutting  teeth,  a  couple  or  trio  of  which  might  be 

arranged  on  a  common  stock,  to  form  "Tuttle  or 
Wolf  Teeth."  Only  the  points  of  the  cutters  actually 
cut   into  the   fibre. 

(b)  The  raker  or  cleaner  teeth,  meant  to  plane  off  the  fibre 

severed  by  the   cutters  and  to  shift  the  sawdust   out 
of  the  kerf.    European  experiments  prove  the  useless- 
ness  of  cleaners.     They  simply  occupy  valuable  dust 
room.      The   point    of   the    rakers    should    recede   by 
1/32  of  an  inch  from  the  cutting  line  of  the  cutting 
points. 
VI.     Length  of  saw  is  from  4  ft.  to  8  ft.     At  Biltmore  6^  ft.  and 
at   Pisgah   7  ft.   is  preferred. 
I-<ical    crews    use    the    "diamond    cross-cut,"    the    "champion 
teeth"  and  the  "hollow  back"  saw. 
VII.     Saw   handles   should   be  easily   detachable.     The   material    of 
the  handle  is  maple,  birch  and  hickory.     Handles  are  fixed 


FOREST    i'TILIZATlOX  ii 

(usually)    vertically  to  back  of  saw.     Sometimes,  however, 
they  are  in  the  direction  of  the  radius  of  the  saw. 

Large  "bow"'  saws  allow  of  a  very  thin  blade  and  have  a  bow 
instead  of  handles.  They  are  not  used  in  America. 
Mil.  The  effect  of  a  saw  is  equal  to  the  number  of  square  inches 
cut  by  one  man  per  minute.  The  effect  is  small  in  pole- 
woods,  increasing  gradually  up  to  a  diameter  of  i-)4  ft.  and 
decreasing  thereafter  owing  to  increasing  friction. 

In   cutting   longleaf   pine,   the   saw   is  continuously   sprinkled 
with   turpentine. 

The  effect  of  curved  saws  is  from  40  %  to  50  %  higher  than 
the    effect    of    straight    saws. 

The  saw  overcomes 

(a)  The  resistance  of  the  fibre  by  the  sharp  points  acting 

as  knives  and  planes ; 

(b)  The  friction  at  both  cheeks  of  the  blade  by  smooth 

cheeks  and  by  a  gauge  narrowing  toward  the  back ; 

(c)  The  friction  of  sawdust  by  deep  teeth,  curved  line  of 

teeth,   perforation,   large   dust  chambers   and  possi- 
bly by  "cleaning  teeth." 
IX.     Dressing   of   cross-cut   saws. 

(a)  "Jointing''    means    filing    all    cutting    teeth     down     to 

exacth'   the    same   circumference. 
The  tool   used  is  called  a  jointer.     A  file  is  placed 
in  the  joints  and  by  a  screw  pressed  into  the  proper 
curvature. 

(b)  "Fixing  the  rakers"  means  filing  them  down  with  the 

help  of  a  raker  gauge.  The  rakers  act  as  brakes 
if  they  project  into  the  cutting  line.  Outside  and 
forks  of  rakers  are  slightly  filed  to  remove  case 
hardening,  and  the  point  is  sharpened  to  a  planer 
edge. 
A  raker  swage  is  being  introduced  to  spread  the 
points  of  the  rakers  and  to  give  them  a  hook-like 
point,  which  is  said  to  tear  out  long  slivers  instead 
of  tearing   out   dust. 

(c)  "Setting   the   cutter  teeth"   is   done   under  the  control 

of  a  "set  gauge"  with  the  help  of  a  "set  block  and 
hammer."'  giving  3  to  4  taps  (the  best  method  when 
done  by  experienced  men)  or  with  the  help  of  a 
"saw  set."  "Saw  sets"  are  constructed  either 
wrench-like  or  after  the  hammer  and  block  prin- 
ciple. 
Rules  of  setting  are : 

1.  Setting    should    never    go    lower    than    half    the 

length  of  the  tooth. 

2.  It   should   never  exceed   twice  the  gauge  of  the 

teeth. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

3.  More  set  is  required  for  long  saws  and  for  soft 

woods  than  for  short  saws  and  hard  w^oods. 

4.  When    hammering,    strike    tooth    fully    >4    inch 

from  point  of  tooth. 

5.  If  teeth  are  badly   set,  take,  to  begin  with,   all 

set  out  of  the  teeth. 

6.  Apply   side  file   inside  file  holder,  to  take  away 

slight    irregularities    of    set    (after     filing     the 
teeth). 
Y  (d)     "Filing."    Filing  usually  follows  setting  except  in  the 

case   of   .saws   spanned   in   a   vise,   when   the   set   is 
afterward  given   by  holding  the   set   block   on  one 
side  of  the  spanned  saw  and  hammering  from  the 
other. 
Rules    of    filing    are : 

1.  File  inside  of  tooth  only. 

2.  File  to  a  bevel  or  fleam  of  45°. 

3.  Push  the  file  away  and  do  not  draw  it  toward 

you. 

4.  Do  not  file  point  to  a  feather  edge. 

5.  It  is  useless  to  sharpen  tooth  below  the  cutting 

point. 

(e)  ''Gumming."      Gumming    is    usually    done     with     the 

file;    the   lever    (punch)    gummer  may  be  used   for 
the   purpose,   however. 

(f)  Remarks:    A  good,  well-tempered  saw  holds  sharpen- 

ing and  filing  for  si.x   work  days. 
In    California    one    man    "cross-cut    saws"    up    to    six 
feet  long  are  used  in  dissecting  the  bole  into  logs. 
The  cross-cut  saw  file  shows,  on  the  cross  section,  a 

narrow   triangle   with   curved  back. 
In    Europe    flat    and    triangular    files    are    used    for 

cross-cut  saws. 
The  "spread  set"  of  the  cutting  teeth  has  been  tried 
and  was  found  impracticable. 
F.     Wedges. 

Wedges   arc   used: 
I.     To  split  wood.     The  "axe  wedge"  is  usually  made  of  iron  and 
should  have  straight  and  not  convex  cheeks,  which  are  often 
grooved  to  prevent   wedge   from  jumping  the  cleft. 
Wedges  are   sold  by  the  pound. 

Iron    wedges   are   prevented    from    jumping   by   heating   them, 
by  putting   dirt   in   the   cleft,   or  else   a   rag   (wet)    over   the 
•    wedge. 

Wooden   wedges  are  made  of  the  butts  of  hard  maple,   horn- 
beam,   black   gum,    dogwood   and   beech. 
Iron  wedges  with   wooden  backs  are   frequently  used  abroad. 


FOREST    LTILIZAT/OX  13 

II.     To  prevent   saw   from  pinching  in  the  kerf. 

Special  saw  wedges  of  oil-tempered  steel  are  made  by  Morley 

Bros. 
Frequetitly  saw  wedges  and  axe  wedges  are  used  alike. 
Wooden  wedges  must  be  driven  with  the  axe  or  hammer. 
Iron  and  steel  wedges  must  be  driven  with  a  wooden  maul. 
G.     Maui.--  and  maul  bands. 

Mauls  are  made  of  the   butts  of  dogwood,  beech,   hornbeam,  hard 
maple,  gum  and  locust,  and  are  held  together  by  two  iron  hoops 
made  of  J^-inch  by  ^-inch  flat  iron. 
H.     Pickaxe   and  matiock. 
The}-  are  used  where  the  stumps  are  used  together  with  the  bole  and 
in  the  preparation  of  forest  roads.     The  points  of  both  are  relaid 
with   steel  after  wearing  out. 
I.     Brush  hooks. 
They  are  used  in  cleaning  boles  and  in  making  fagots  or  fascines  : 
further   in   clearing   snaking  roads   in   dense   underbrush. 
J.     The  krempe. 
The  krempe  is  used   largely  abroad  and  in  India  and   resembles  the 
picaroon   or    hookaroon   used    in   America    for   handling   ties,   tele- 
graph poles  and  pulp  Avood.     It  is  used  in  rolling  and  moving  logs 
down  hill,  the  pick  acting  as  a  lever,  the  luleruni'  of  which  lies  at 
the  heel. 
K.     Pike  poles. 
Pike  poles  are  used  with  pike  and  hook  or  with  pike  only ;    are  12 
ft.  to  20  ft.  long,  made  of  selected  white  ash,  the  points  consisting 
of   cast  steel.     The   points  are  either   screwed   into   the   wood   or 
driven  without  heating.     Pike  poles  cost  $10  to  $25  a  dozen.    They 
are   indispensable   in    driving   and    rafting   operations    and    at    mill 
ponds. 
L.     Screws  for  blasting  stumps.     Such  screws  are  used  abroad,  not  to 
shoot  stumps  out  of  the  ground  but  solely  to  split  stumps  where 
prices  of  firewood  are  high.     The  hollow  screw  loaded  with  blast- 
ing powder  is  inserted  into  an  auger-made  hole. 
^I.     Grindstones. 

Grindstones  should  not  be  exposed  to  the  sun.  should  be  kept 
equally  round  and  even  and  should  always  be  kept  wet  while  in 
use.  A  water  trough  underneath  the  stone  should  be  rejected,  as 
the  submerged  side  softens  unduly  and  unevenly.  Stones  are  sold 
by  the  pound. 
A  70-lb.  grindstone  costs  about  $4.  The  extra  fixtures,  consisting 
of  hubs,  shafts  with  nuts,  crank  etc.  cost  about  a  dollar. 
X.     Machine  saws. 

For  cutting  trees  such  saws  have  proven  a  failure.  Similar  was 
the  fate  of  the  "electric  cutting  machine"  recently  patented  by 
Bayer.  The  expense  of  carrying  machines  from  tree  to  tree  is 
greater  than  the  expense  of  cutting  by  hand. 


FORllSr    CTIIJZATIOX 

O.     Tree-felling  machine?. 
They  are  largely  used  abroad  to  obtain  the  stump  of  a  tree  together 

with  the  bole. 
I.  One  of  them  is  the  "Nassau  machine,"  consisting  of  a  4-inch 
board  10  inches  wide  into  which  regular  steps  are  hewn, 
and  of  a  pole  about  25  ft.  long,  with  a  crooked  pike  at  the 
small  end  and  squarely  bound  in  iron  at  the  big  end.  Half 
a  foot  above  the  big  end  the  pole  is  perforated  so  as  to 
receive  a  i^/l-inch  round  steel  spike.  The  square  base  of 
the  pole  is  placed  on  a  step  of  the  board,  fixed  flat  on  the 
ground,  some  12  feet  from  the  tree.  The  pole  then  forms 
an  angle  of  about  50°  against  the  board,  while  the  spike 
is  securely  placed  into  the  bole  of  the  tree.  By  means 
of  two  crowbars  the  base  of  the  pole  is  moved  step  by 
step  toward  the  tree.  This  machine  must  be  used  in 
Hesse  Darmstadt,  under  the  employer's  liability  law. 
n.  The  "wood  devil"  has  been  used  for  centuries  in  Switzer- 
land. A  rope  or  cable  is  fixed  in  the  top  of  the  tree  to 
be  felled  and  a  chain  is  fastened  around  a  stump  in  the 
falling  direction,  which  chain  ends  in  two  hooks.  The 
lower  end  of  the  rope  is  secured  to  a  chain,  the  links 
of  which  receive  the  hooks.  By  moving  a  long  lever  to 
and  fro,  the  hooks  are  inserted  alternatingly  in  the  chain 
end  of  the  rope,  advancing  two  or  three  links  at  a  time. 
The  instrument  is  very  cheap,  simple  and  powerful ;  at  an 
angle  of  45°  the  rope  has  the  maximum  of  power. 

in.     To  remove  stumps  alone  the  stump  lifter  might  be  used. 

IV'.     "Weston's    differential    hoist"   lifts   the   maximum   of   weight 
with  a  minimum  of  its   own  weight. 
A    Weston    hoist    capable    of   lifting    i'<.  tons   8^-2    ft.    high 
weighs  only  81   lbs.   and  costs  $25. 

§  VI.       FELLING    THE    TREES. 

Under  "A"  and  "B"  are  described  the  chief  methods  of  felling. 
A.     Obtaining  bole  without  stump  and  roots : 

I.     By   exclusive   use   of   the   axe,   handled   from  one   side   only  in 
cutting  small  trees,  in  thinnings   and  in  coppice   woods. 
II.     By   exclusive    use    of   the    axe,    cutting   two   kerfs   on   opposite 
sides.      The   first    notch,    on    side    toward    which    tree    is    in- 
tended to  fall,  made  from  4  inches  to  6  inches  lower,  must 
penetrate   the   center  of  the  tree.      Avoid   felling   toward   the 
direction   in   which  the  tree   leans. 
Advantages  of  this  method  are  the  facts  that  one  tool  and  one 
man  only  are  required;    that  the  bole  is  easily  directed;    that 
the    logs   obtain   proper  noses. 
Disadvantages  are  loss  of  bole,  amounting  to  from  4  %  to  8  % 
and  loss  of  time  and  labor  in  large  timber.     This  method  of 
felling   is   universally   used    in    Maine. 


FORRST    rrjLIZATfOX  15 

III.  By  hewing  "out  of  the  pan,"  a  method  used   for  valuable  heavy- 

boles.  Uncertainty  of  fall  is  counterbalanced  by  a  gain  in  the 
length  of  the  bole.  The  bole  thus  obtained  is  said  to  show 
less  heart  shakes. 

IV.  By  using  the  two-handed  cross-cut  saw  alone,  without  the  help 

-of  the  axe,  a  method  not  advisable  for  the  reason  that  the 
fall  of  the  bole  cannot  be  directed. 
V.  By  joint  use  of  cross-cut  saw  and  axe.  The  axe  cuts  a  kerf  on 
the  falling  side,  the  depth  of  which  is  1/4  to  1/5  of  the  diam- 
eter, and  the  innermost  point  of  which  lies  on  a  level  with 
the  saw  kerf.  When  the  saw  begins  to  pinch,  drive  wedges 
behind  the  back  of  the  saw.  Withdraw  the  saw  when  the 
tree  begins  to  shake  heavily  and  force  it  to  fall  by  wedging. 
Advantages  of  this  method  are :    the  trees  are  easily  directed  at 

a  small  loss  of  timber. 
Disadvantages  are:  several  tools  and  several  men  are  required. 
In  very  thick  woods  and  on  very  rocky,  steep  slopes,  the  use 
of  the  saw  is  not  advisable  or  possible.  Careless  wedging  may 
cause  the  bole  to  split  at  the  butt.  The  saw  and  the  wedge 
are  said  to  be  responsible  for  heart  shakes. 

B.  Obtaining  bole  with  stump  and  roots : 

It  is  essential  to  thoroughly  sever  the  main  roots  with  axe,  mattock 
and  pick.  The  tree  is  then  forced  over  by  a  tree-felling  machine, 
or  with  a  rope  fastened  to  a  high  limb. 

Advantages  are:  longer  bole;  gain  of  lumber  8  %  to  10%.  Possi- 
bility of  obtaining  knees  for  ship  building  (tamarack  and  white 
oak).  The  tree  falls  gently,  its  fall  being  checked  by  the  roots 
so  that  the  bole  shows  less  splits,  cracks  and  wind  shakes.  The 
bole  is  less  apt  to  break  and  can  be  allowed  to  dry  out  gradually. 
Further,  root-breeding  insects  don't  find  any  incubators  and  agri- 
cultural use  is  facilitated. 

Disadvantages  are:  greater  expense,  more  tools,  axes  ruined  in  cut- 
ting roots,  extra  saw  cut  required  to  sever  the  butt  log  from  the 
roots  and,  above  all,  the  delay  in  finishing  the  logging  job. 

C.  Criteria  of  a  good  method  : 

I.  Danger  to  workmen. 

II.     Total  net  value  obtained. 

III.  Wastefulness. 

IV.  Possibility  of  throwing  the  tree  in  the  desired  direction. 

D.  Pollarding  before  felling: 

The  branches  or  the  tree  tops  in   European  logging  are   frequently 
lopped  off  before  felling,  for  the  following  reasons  : 
I.     The  younger  generation  of  trees   surrounding  the  tree  to  be 
cut  receives  less  injury. 

II.  Lopped  trees  touch  the  ground  all  along  the  bole  at  one  and 

the  same  time.  Hence  no  danger  af  the  boles  breaking  or 
splitting.  In  addition,  a  reduced  crown  causes  the  tree  to 
fall  with  decreased  force. 


,  FOREST    UTIUZATIOX 

E.     Felling  rules: 

I.  The  trees  must  be  thrown  in  such  a  way  as  to  do  least  damage 

to  themselves,  to  surrounding  trees  and  to  undergrowth. 

II.  The  felled  tree  should  lie  in  a  position  allowing  of  easy  dissec- 

tion of  bole  and  of  easy  removal  of  logs. 

III.  Operations  must  be  stopped   during  storms  and  blizzards. 

IV.  Trees  over  6  inches  in  diameter  should  be  sawn  down,  coppice 

w'oods  excepted. 
V.     No  more  trees  should  be   felled  than  can  be  worked  up  within 
reasonable   time   after    felling. 
\T.     'J'hc  stumps  should  not  be  higher  than  the  tree's  diameter. 
VH.     All  trees  marked  for  cutting,  and  none  else,  must  be  cut. 
VIII.     The  tops  should  be  swamped  so  that  they  may  come  in  contact 
with  the  ground. 

§  VII.       DISSECTING    THE    BOLE    OF    THE    TREE. 

A.  Purpose  of  dissection. 

I.  Reduction   of  freightage. 

II.  Belter    adaptation    to    different    methods    of   transportation    re- 

quired for  different  assortments. 

III.  Better  accommodation  of  buyers  requiring  different  assortments. 

IV.  Obtaining  manageable  size  of  logs  and  wood. 

As  much  net  value  should  be  obtained  from  the  bole  as  possible. 
Waste  is  advisable  wherever  it  pays  to  waste. 

In  no  forest  on  earth  is  all  the  woody  substance  produced  mar- 
ketable. The  amount  of  offal  (waste,  debris)  depends  merely 
on  the  expense  of  transportation  to  markets  within  nearest 
reach.  It  is  better  to  waste  wood  than  to  waste  money.  The 
modern  lumberman  gathering  logs  of  4  inches  diameter  and  the 
modern  forester  objecting  to  any  waste  frequently  neglect  this 
rule. 

B.  Factors  influencing  the  dissection  : 

I.     Requirements  of  the  niarket  governed  by  custom. 

II.  Distance   from    market:     the   longer   the    distance,    the    better 

must  be  the  quality  of  the  product. 
JII.     Locality  (f.  i.  steepness  of  slope;    swampiness). 
iV.     Local  laws  (f.  i.  in  North  Carolina  relative  to  8- foot  firewood). 
V.     Available  means  of  transportation   and   their  construction. 
VI.     Freight  rates  varying  with  the  degree  of  conversion. 
VH.     Size  of  cars  and  wagons. 
VIII.     Length   of  mill   carriage  and  of  feedworks.  - 

C.  The   main    divisions    of    woody   produce    obtained    from    dissected 
boles  are  : 

I.     Piece  stuff,  i.  e.  logs,  blocks,  construction  timber,  sold  by  the 
foot,  the  standard,  the  pound. 
II.     Numbered  stuff,  i.  e.  poles,  posts,  mine  props,  scaffolding  poles 
and  shingles,  boards  and  staves,  sold  by  the  dozen,  by  the 
hundred,  by  the  thousand  etc. 


FOREST    I'TILIZATIOX  17 

III.     Space    stuff,    i.    e.    industrial    cordwood    (for    insulator   pins, 
bobbins,  pulp,   tannin  etc.),  tanbark  and    fuel,    sold  by  the 
cord.     In  the  case  of  bark,  2,240  lbs.  are  usually  considered 
the  equivalent  of  one  cord. 
The   specifications  governing  the  dissection  describe: 
I.     The  dimensions,   i.  e.,  the  range  of  length  and  diameter  de- 
sired for  each  section  obtainable. 
II.     The  quality  of  each  section  and  the  defects  allowed  and  pro- 
hibited therein, 
(a)     Saw  logs  for  lumber. 

I.     Dimensions.     Douglas  fir  on  the   Pacific  coast   used  to 
be  cut  in  logs  24  ft.  long.     The  minimum  diameter  per- 
missible  was  30  inches. 
Spruce  in  New  England  is  often  cut  13  ft.  4  inches  long 
^>  with  a  diameter  of  6  inches  and  up. 

For  yellow  pine  logs,  any  length   and   any  diameter  over 

8  inches  are  permissible. 
Hardwood  logs  have  a  length  ranging  from  6  ft.  4  inches 
to   18  ft.  4  inches,  arranged  in  intervals  of  2  ft.     Odd 
lengths  are  scaled  down.    A  deficiency  of  ^  ft.  in  length 
of  board  or  less  is,  however,  often  disregarded. 
Export  logs  of  yellow  poplar  are  8  ft.  and  16  ft.  long. 
Jack  pine  logs  for  cheap  box  lumber  are  often  cut  6^  feet 
6  inches  long,  the  diameters  ranging  from  4  inches  up- 
ward. 
2.     Treatment.      Saw    kerfs    at    either    end    of   log    should    be 
made  perpendicular.     Branches  should  be  swamped  off, 
knots  cut  level  and  laid  open.     Bark  in  the  case  of  coni- 
fers  is   frequently  peeled  off  in  Maine  and  in   Europe. 
Bark    rings    are    sometimes    left   at   the    ends.      Defects 
of  bole   must   be  concentrated   in   one   log,  or  must  be 
sawn  out.     Nosing  is  required  for  loose  driving  and  for 
snaking.     Painting  of  end  faces   with   red  lead  is  pre- 
scribed for  export  logs.     Very  heavy  logs  are  sometimes 
split  in  two.     Putting  logs  on  sticks  to  prevent  spoliation 
of  sap  and  to  reduce  specific  gravity  is  often  advised. 

(b)  Blocks  for  woodenwarc. 

Poplar,  for  large  bowls,  must  be  entirely  free? 
from  defects.  White  pine  blocks  are  often  cut 
between  the  whirls  of  branches. 

(c)  Hub  blocks  must  be  butt  logs,  the  length  allow- 

ing to  cut  either  two  or  four  out  of  the  block. 

(d)  Construction  timber  is  hewn  according  to  local 

requirements.  Minimum  diameter  at  small 
end  most  important.  Construction  timber 
abroad  is  sometimes  whip  sawn. 

(e)  Poplar    and    walnut    squares    run    from    4"  x  4" 

to  10"  X  10".  They  are  whip  sawn  in  the  back- 
woods of  western  North  Carolina. 


i8     •  FOREST    UTILIZATION 


(f)  Telegraph    poles.     The    smallest     diameter,    the 

diameter  at  or  close  to  the  big  end,  the  length, 
crooks  and  treatment  of  bark  must  be  consid- 
ered. Sometimes  pointing  of  the  small  end 
is   specified. 

(g)  Fence  posts.     Species,  length,  smallest  diameter, 

straightness,  method  of  manufacture  etc.  must 
be  considered.    Usual  length  is  6J/2  feet. 

(h)  Railroad  ties.  Specifications  are  very  variable. 
Face  is  usually  from  6"  x  6"  to  7"  x  9".  Sawed 
railroad  ties  are  used,  especially  in  the  yellow 
pine  section.  Great  wa-ste  in  hewing  ties  from 
trees  just  too  small  to  yield  two  ties.  Speci- 
fications cover  allowance  of  sap,  wind  shakes, 
wany  edge  and  dote. 

(i)  Shingle  bolt:..  Lengths  are  multiples  of  16"  and 
18",  usually. 

(j)     Mine  props.     Middle  diameter  from  3"  to  8". 

(k)  Stave  and  heading  bolts.  Basswood  heading 
bolts  used  in  Michigan.  Length  18"  or  37" 
and  diameter  not  less  than  8".  If  from  12" 
to  18",  split  into  halves.  If  over  18",  split  into 
quarters.  White  oak  bolts  used  at  Wilming- 
ton measure  36"  for  stave  bolts  and  24"  for 
heading  bolts ;  core  must  be  hewn  out ;  mini- 
mum face  at  inner  edge  4". 
Heading  bolts  for  sugar  barrels  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks  consist  of  spruce  cut  in  lengths  forming 
multiples  of  22"  with  a  diameter  minimum 
of  6". 
Stave  logs  for  sugar  barrels  consist  of  l)irch, 
beech  and  maple,  the  lengths  forming  multi- 
ples of  32",  with  a  diameter  minimum  of  8". 

(I)  Bolts  for  carriage  spokes.  Material  is  black  or 
shellbark  hickory,  white  oak,  white  ash  and 
post  oak  strictly  free  from  imperfections. 
Minimum  diameter  12" ;  length  6>4  feet,  7^ 
feet,  8^  feet  and  so  on. 

(m)  Paper  pulp.  Logs  scale  6"  and  upwarcls  ;  no  dead 
timber.  In  the  State  of  Maine  pulp  logs  are 
peeled   in   the   woods. 

(n)  Veneering  blocks.  Hardwoods  preferred,  of  the 
biggest  possible  diameter,  but  certainly  over 
18"  diameter.     Blocks  from  2  to  6  feet  long. 

(o)  Tannin  extract  wood.  Length  of  wood  5  feet, 
solit  from  logs  10  inches  and  over  in  diameter. 
Wormholes  allowed.  Fibre  must  be  abso- 
lutely sound.   A  cord  cor.sists  of  160  cubic  feet. 


fORHST    UTILIZATIOX  19 

Higher  price  for  peeled  wood.  Butt  logs  pre- 
ferred. Cutting  of  saw  logs  out  of  same  tree 
forbidden, 
(p)  Fuel  cordwood.  Advisal)ility  for  piles  to  contain 
one  cord  Weight  of  pieces  should  be  such 
that  one  man  can  lift  them  easily.  Splitting 
facilitates  the  process  of  drying ;  in  pine  wood 
it  also  prevents  rotting. 

CHAPTER  III.     TRANSPORTATION. 

§  VIII.       TR.VXSPORTATIOX     WITHOUT     VEHICLES     OX     LAXD. 

The  following  methods  of  such  transportation  are  en  vogue : 

A.  Carrying   stove   wood,   pulp   wood,   extract   wood   etc.    on  men's 

shoulders,     a    method    of    transportation    very    largely    used 

abroad  and  in  India.     Carrying  distances  abroad  range  up  to 

cne-eighth   of  a   mile.     In  India   railroad  ties   are   carried   by 

the  Hindoos  over  much  longer  distances. 
'"Stretchers"   are   sometimes   used   where   slope   is   not    steep,   or 

■'timber    carriers."      Morley     Bros.'     lughooks-    are     used     in 

America. 
At   Biltmore  firewood  is  carried   to  the   roads  over  an  average 

distance  of   150  feet  on   men's   shoulders. 

B.  Dragging  logs  by  human  force  where  vehicles  or  water  is  near 

and  where  produce  does  not  weigh  over  a  ton.  The  front 
end  of  a  log  is  placed  on  a  tray  (lizard)  to  prevent  it  from 
boring  into  the  ground. 
Barked  or  peeled  and  well  trimmed  logs  are  easily  dragged. 
Silviculturally,  dragging  is,  of  course,  inferior  to  carrying 
of  w^ood  products. 

C.  Rolling   logs    by   human   labor   is   necessary   almost   everywhere, 

Peavy,   cant   hook   and   "krempe"    are    used    for    the    purpose. 
On  a  slope  of  about    15  %,  after  removing  obstacles,  logs  will 

roll  easily. 
Shingle  blocks,   stovewood  blocks  and  other  short  round  wood 

may  be  spanned  in  a   frame.     This  method  of  transportation 

badly  damages  young  growth   and  trees   left   standing. 

D.  Shooting  logs   down  chutes. 

A  dell  in  the  slope  of  30  %  or  more  is  often  filled  with  (peeled) 
logs ;    then  the  top  logs  are  shot  down  the  dell  over  the  other 
logs  below. 
Three  kinds  of  chutes  proper  may  be  distinguished  : 
I.     Pole  chutes ; 
II.     Board   chutes ; 
III.     Earth  chutes. 

I.     Pole  chutes  have  been  largely  used   in   the  United 
States,  costing  about  $300  a  mile.     They  are  said 


20  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

to  last  from  seven  to  ten  years  and  should  have 

the  following  grades : 

For  For                For 

long  logs.  short  logs,  railroad  ties. 

Drv  chute 15-20%  25-35%              26% 

leed  chute    4-  8%  8-12%                 6% 

i          V^              .  Watered   cJiute    3-6%  5-8% 

jL-Wln  Heavy  curves  must  be  avoided  and  the  outside  of 

\     V       I  light    curves    fixed    with    a    number    of    "saddle 


C\<^^  ^°s^' 


Pole  chutes  consist  of  a  trough  made  of  four  to  six 
poles.  The  pole  chute  is  about  three  feet  wide  and 
requires  cribs  or  yokes  for  a  foundation  where 
it  is  not  laid  on  the  ground. 

Water,  ice  and  soap  are  used  for  lubrication.  Chutes 
made  of  hardwoods  are  said  to  run  smoother 
than  those  made  of  conifers,  owing  to  the 
greater  elasticity  of  conifers.  Where  the  grade 
is  light,  poles  should  be  peeled  and  hewn  on  the 
inside.  The  grade  of  inlet  must  be  very  steep ; 
the  outlet  should  open  into  a  pond.  Frequently, 
when  the  job  of  chuting  is  finished,  the  poles 
or  ties  composing  the  chute  are  shot  down  them- 
selves, thus  dissolving  the  chute. 
II.  Board  chutes,  which  are  frequently  movable,  con- 
sist of  i-inch  or  2-inch  boards.  They  are  used 
in  carrying  firew'Ood  and  other  short  stuff  down 
slopes  of  25%  to  35%.  The  rougher  the  produce, 
the  steeper  must  be  the  grade  and  the  wider  arid 
smoother  must  be  the  trough.  Sprinkling  is  re- 
quired during  dry  weather,  sanding  during  wet 
spells. 
III.  Earth  chutes.  These  resemble  snaking  roads  of  a 
steady  grade,  which  grade  must  be : 

(a)  Where  snow  or  ice  crust  is  available,  8  to 

10%. 

(b)  Where  split  cross  ties  are  used,  laid  about 

5    feet   apart;    for   logs    16   feet   long   or 
longer,  from  loj^  to  18%. 

(c)  Where  dry  earth  is  used,  25%  and  over. 
Road   poles  must  be   used  on  the  valley   side,   es- 
pecially so  in  curves,  and  bridges  must  cross  all 
the  gullies. 

E.  "Roping"  is  a  method  employed  for  moving  long  and  heavy  logs 
in  the  "Black  Forest."  A  rope  is  fastened  at  the  small  end 
of  the  log  to  a  ring  dog  and  swung  once  or  twice  around 
the  stump  of  a  tree  nearby.  The-  log  is  started  by  the 
"krempe."  and  its  speed  is  controlled  by  loosening  or  tight- 
ening the  loop  around  the  tree.     When  the  rope  is  run  out 


FOREST    UTIUZATIOX  21 

it   is   fastened  anew,  after  stopping  the  log,  to  a   tree  lower 
down  on  the  slope.     The  best  slope  is  about  35%. 
Snaking  logs  or  skidding  logs. 

I.  Attachment  by  chains  12  to  16  feet  long  and  1/3  inch 
to  I/2  inch  thick  ending  in  dogs.  When  a  chain 
link  breaks,  a  "cold  shut"  is  put  in  its  place  (cost 
$3  per  100  for  l^-inch  chain).  For  smaller  logs 
skidding  tongs  are  used  in  place  of  dogs,  at- 
tached to  main  chain  by  three  rings,  swivel  and 
hook,  and  costing,  per  dozen,  about  $50. 
In  the  case  of  horses,  stretchers  are  used  to  prevent 

the  traces  from  hurting  their  legs. 
On   muddy  soil,  the  nose  of  the  log  is  frequently 

placed  on  a  tray,  or  a  lizard,  or  a  triangle. 
Snrking  dogs  are  usually  hand  twr.de  and  should  be 
driven  by  a  maul.     Plain  points  on  dogs  seem  to 
be  preferred.    Logging  dogs  10  inches  to  12  inches 
long  are  quoted  at  $15  per  dozen. 
II.     Animals.     For  long  distance  hauling,  mules  or  horses 
are  preferred  to  oxen.     Ox  harness  is  rarely  used. 
In  the  South  three  yokes  form  a  "team"  usuallj', 
the  chains  running  from  yoke  to  yoke.     Leaders 
(oxen)    require    special    training.      The    teamster 
manages  the  yokes  of  oxen  by  shouting,  applying 
the  whip  as  little  as  possible. 
III.     Roads  for  skidding  or  snaking. 

(a)  Uphill  grades  must  be  strictly  avoided;  even 

level  stretches  are  disastrous.  The  grade  de- 
pends on  the  season  of  usage.  Where  ice 
and  snow  are  available  1%  or  2%  are  ample. 
On  dry  rocky  ground  50%  is  the  maximum. 
On  the  average,  for  "Biltmore"  conditions, 
20%  seems  best. 

(b)  Curves    must    be    strictly    avoided,    especially 

"inside  curves'"  skirting  a  gully.  Herein  lies 
the  greatest  difficulty  of  snaking  road  build- 
ing in  sections  where  the  mountain  slopes 
are  deeply  gullied. 

(c)  In   the  Appalachians   the   surface  of  the   road 

is  2^  to  3H  feet  wide  and  road  poles  laid 
on  the  valley  side  prevent  the  logs  from 
jumping  the  road. 
Swampy  and  moist  places  are  corduroyed 
lengthwise  with  the  road.  Creeks  must  be 
bridged.  It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  one 
bad  spot  in  a  snaking  road  requires  the  use 
of  additional  teams  over  the  entire  length  of 
road. 


rORllSr    VTIUZJTION 

Regular  troughs  made  of  two  strong  poles 
resting  on  cross  ties  are  used  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  grade  is  deficient  and  distance 
long.  Out  West  cross  ties  7  feet  apart  are 
placed  on  the  road.  In  both  cases  long  log 
trains  are  formed.  It  is  claimed  for  such 
trains  that  the  pull  or  strain  on  the  animals 
is  evened  or  equalized,  some  logs  sliding 
down  hill  while  other  logs  of  the  same  train 
overcome   impediments. 

(d)  Means    of    lubrication    are:     Sprinkling    with 

water;  laying  cross  ties  or  length  ties;  peel- 
ing of  logs;  greasing  the  ties. 
Means  of  braking  the  logs  are:  Sprinkling 
earth,  sand,  hay  and  branches  on  the  road; 
throwing  chains  on  the  road,  or  tying  chains 
around  the   logs. 

(e)  Snaking    distance.      Snaking    distances    range 

up  to  one  mile  (usually),  averaging  about 
one-third  of  a  mile.  Where  many  logs,  say 
30,000  board  feet  of  logs  or  more,  must  be 
transported  on  the  same  road  over  an  aver- 
age distance  greater  than  one-third  of  a 
mile,  other  means  of  transportation  are 
usually  preferable  to  snaking. 
In  the  Appalachian  hardwoods  the  expense  for 
1,000  board  feet  snaked  over  ^-mile  amounts 
to  about  $4.  In  the  Adirondacks  skidding 
costs  40c  to  50c  per  1,000  board  feet,  the  dis- 
tances being  short,  since  the  logs  are  merely 
skidded  to  the  skidways  arranged  alongside 
the  sleigh  roads. 
G.     Drums. 

I.  Hand  drums  or  winches  are  used  for  yarding  logs  and 
especially  for  hoisting  logs  up  hill  on  steep  inclines,  the 
distances  not  exceeding  300  feet.  G.  B.  Carpenter  quotes 
single  "drum  grabs,"  weighing  275  pounds  and  having 
2  tons  power,  placed  in  strong  oak  frames,  at  $27.  Power 
capstans  might  be  used  for  the  same  purpose. 
II.  Drums  with  horses  as  motive  power  are  used  in  eastern 
Tennessee  for  hoisting  logs  up  to  the  rim  of  the  sand- 
stone plateaus. 
III.  Steam  power  is  now  universally  used  out  West  in  connec- 
tion with  drums  known  as  "Bull  Donkey"  and  "Donkey" 
engines.  Skidding  or  snaking  roads  are  usually  dis- 
pensed with.  Steel  cable  (>^-inch  plow  steel)  is  used 
on  the  drums.  The  distance  of  haulage  should  not  ex- 
ceed   1,200  feet.     The   main   cable  is  pulled   out  by  a 


fORHST    UTILIZATION  23 

V2-inch  endless  cable  ("tripline")  running  into  the  dis- 
trict to  be  logged  over  a  number  of  tackle  blocks.  Zig- 
zags can  be  made  by  using  tackle  blocks  on  the  hauling 
line  as  well.  One  engineer  and  one  fireman  are  all  the 
crew  required  in  addition  to  two  loaders.  Frequently 
the  engine  loads  logs  on  railroad  cars  at  the  same  time. 
The  engine's  cylinders  are  about  8  inches  by  10  inches. 
Engines  are  moved  from  place  to  place  by  their  own 
power.  Price  for  an  engine  f.  o.  b.  Biltmore  is  $1,400. 
Boilers  arc  of  the  upright  type.  The  wire  cable  is 
usually  made  of  6  strands,  each  containing  19  wires, 
wound  around  a  hemp  center.  Running  cables  should 
never  be  galvanized.  The  proper  load  of  a  cable  is  only 
one-fifth  of  the  breaking  strain  in  tons.  Steel  ropes 
(cables)  have  twice  the  strength  of  charcoal  iron  ropes. 
One-inch  steel  wire  cable  costs  19c  a  foot,  weighs  about 
i^  pounds  per  foot  and  has  a  breaking  strain  of  33 
tons.  Its  proper  load  is  6  tons  only.  Silviculturally  this 
method   of   steam   logging  is   objectionable. 

§  IX.      WATER  TRANSPORTATION. 

Logs  or  lumber  are  driven  loosely  or  floated  in  rafts. 

A.  Loose  driving  is  a  method  used  in  eastern  America  for  short 
logs,  pulp  wood  and  firewood. 
Specific  gravity  of  material  driven  must  be  reduced  below  i.oo. 
Heavy  species  might  be  deadened  a  year  before  driving,  like 
teak  in  India,  to  attain  this  end,  provided  that  attacks  from 
fungi  or  insects,  on  the  deadened  trees,  are  not  to  be  feared. 
Under  favorable  conditions,  where  the  creeks  are  narrow  and 
well  watered,  no  special  arrangements  for  driving  are  re- 
quired. 

I.     Splash   dams.     The   proper   site  for   a  splash   dam  is   the 
rocky  narrows  of  a  water  course  below  a  broad  bottom 
of  little  fall,  or  else  at  the  outlet  of  a  natural  lake. 
Large  splash  dams  must  be  placed  on  rock  foundations. 
The  expense  of  building  increases  at  a  cubic  ratio  with 
the  height  of  the  dam. 
Splash  dams   built   in  tributaries   are  preferable  to  dams 
in    the    main    creek,    provided    that    they    can   be    filled 
quickly  enough. 
A   system  of  dams  of  first,  second  and   third   importance 

is  frequently  formed. 
The  distance  of  effectiveness  of  a  dam  depends  on  the 
size  of  the  water  reservoir,  the  width  of  the  water 
course  below  the  dam,  and  the  rapidity  of  its  fall.  On 
"Big  Creek"  in  Pisgah  Forest  the  distance  of  effective- 
ness was  four  miles. 
Splash  dams  meant  to  be  permanent  must  be  built  of 
stone   and   are   exceedingly   expensive. 


24  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

The  usual  splash  dam  consists  of  timber  cribs  filled  with 
rock  and  joined  by  logs  laid  crosswise.  The  front  of 
the  dam  must  be  slanting  and  is  covered  with  a  double 
layer  of  boards.  The  gateway  of  the  dam  must  allow 
of  rapid  drawing  (or  opening)  of  the  basin.  The  gates 
are  either  constructed  barn  door  fashion,  held  in  place 
by  a  strong  key  and  lever,  or  consist  of  (vertical) 
piling,  the  individual  piles  to  be  lifted  by  a  crowbar  or 
drum.  Half-moon-shaped  gates  are  used  in  the  Lake 
States  and  in  the  Adirondacks. 

The  smaller  the  water  supply  and  the  greater  the  pressure 
the  tighter  must  be  the  gate. 

The  expense  of  a  splash  dam  of  the  first  order  is  from 
$i,coo  to  $2,000.  A  timber  splash  dam  lasts  from  six  to 
ten  years. 

Frequently  additional  small  gates  are  made  to  give  a 
"fore-water,"  meant  to  loosen  the  logs  in  the  creek 
below  the  dam.  The  actual  splash  rather  presses  the 
logs  down  the  creek,  i"  ead  of  floating  the  logs. 
II.  Dams  in  the  creek  bed  itself  are  sometimes  required  to 
raise  the  water  in  a  shallow  section. 

III.  Before  driving  begins,  the  creek  bed  must  be  cleaned  out 

by  removing  old  log  jams,  leaning  trees  and  huge 
boulders.  Sharp  bends  of  the  creek  must  be  cut 
through,  so  as  to  straighten  the  creek  bed. 

IV.  Fixtures  along  the  bank  of  the  creek  are  required  to  pre- 

vent logs  from  getting  smashed  when  striking  a  bluff; 
from  being  thrown  on  the  bank  in  a  curve  of  the  creek ; 
from  destroying  the  banks,  and  further  to  prevent  the 
spread  of  water  and  loss  of  force,  where  a  splash  is 
expected  to  overrun  adjoining  flats. 

Such  bank  fixtures  consist  of: 

Pole  cribs  filled  with  rock,  the  poles  lying  solid,  pole  to 
pole,  toward  the  creek,  or  of  inclines  of  poles  laid 
horizontally,  supported  by  strong  uprights  from  be- 
hind, or  of  alternating  layers  of  fascines  and  stone, 
joined  together  by  strong  piling  driven  into  the  ground; 
or,  finally,  of  brush  laid  on  the  sloping  bank  and  irreg- 
ularly covered  with  rock. 
V.  The  bottom  of  the  creek  is  sometimes  paved  with  stone 
or  poles  laid  lengthwise,  where  the  bottom  consists  of 
clay.  This  is  especially  necessary  in  artificial  channels 
or  canals  dug  through  sharp  curves  of  the  creek,  or  dug 
close  to  the  connecting  booms. 
VI.     Booms. 

(a)    European  booms  are  rake  booms,  the  teeth  of  the 
rake  formed  by  strong  palings. 
The   tops    of   the   teeth   are   connected   by   strong 


FOREST    LTILlZAriOX  25 

timber   bars,   which   are   held   in   place   by   stone 
cribs. 
These  booms   are  stretched   diagonally  across  the 
river.     The   logs   or  wood   are  merely  diverted 
by   the  boom   and   forced  into  an  artificial   side 
canal    ending   in    a    reservoir    near    tlue   mill   or 
depot. 
A  gridiron  or  sieve,  filtering  the  river  at  a  water- 
fall and  retaining  the  wood  on  the  gridiron,  has 
been  used  jn  the  Tyrol  by  the  Bavarian  Govern- 
ment for  many  decades, 
(b)    The  American  boom  consists  of  two  sections,  an 
upper    shear   boom    spanning    diagonally    across 
the   stream  and  a  lower  storage  boom   stretch- 
ing for  miles  along  the   river  bank,   where   the 
water    is    quiet    and    the    current    slow.      Both 
booms  are  floating  booms  consisting  of  one  or 
-  two   strings   of  prime  legs,  the   logiS!! joined   by 
..nchor    chain.      The    booms    are    kept    in    place 
either    by    wire    cables    ^-inch    to    an    inch    in 
diameter   or    by   stone   filled    cribs.      It     is    ad- 
visable   to    have    the    storage    boom    consist    of 
independent    sections    so    that    the   breakage    of 
the  boom  empties  one  section  only. 
Frequently  several  mill  concerns  form  boom  com- 
panies. 
The   logs    are   lifted   out   of   the   booms   by   "jack 
works"   or   "log   hoists." 
Yll.     Driving   and    splashing   must   be   considered   a   backwoods 
method,  applicable  to  very  cheap  stumpage.     It  is  not 
practiced  on  the  Pacific  coast,  where  we  have  very  cheap 
stumpage,  owing  to  the  size  of  the  logs  and  poor  water 
facilities.    Where  there  are  plenty  of  natural  lakes,  in  a 
coniferous    country    as    in    the   Adirondacks,    Michigan 
and   Minnesota,  the  method  continues  to  be  practiced.- 
Splashing  is  the  more  advisable : 

(a)  The  smaller  the  specific   gravity  of  timber. 

(b)  The  shorter   the  logs. 

(c)  The  lower  the  stumpage  price. 

(d)  The  more  reliable  the  rainy  season  and  the  gauge 

of  the  river. 

(e)  The  better  the  natural  conditions  are  at  the  dam 

sites,  in  creek  bed  and  at  boom  site. 

(f)  The  poorer  the  natural  conditions  are  for  railroad 

building  and  wagon  road  building. 

(g)  The  less  land  owned  by  other  parties  is  traversed 

by   splashed  logs. 


26  fORHST    VTILIZAriOX 

(h)     The  more  saw  timber  improves  while  being  bathed 

in   running   water, 
(i)    The  longer  the  distance. 

(j)     The  more  inclined  the  log  owner  is  toward  taking 
risks  and  the  less  affected  he  is  by  reduced  fertil- 
ity along  the  river  bank. 
Remarks:  In  the  pine  woods  of  the  South  in  olden  times 
ditches    were    dug   about   three    feet     wide,     connecting 
stumpage  with   swamps  and   rivers. 
The  outlay  per  1,000  board  feet  in  splashing  and   driving 

is  from  50c  to  $1    (for  manual  labor  only). 
River  driving  of  cord  wood  at  Biltmore   from   the  upper 
end  of  the  estate  to  Asheville,  inclusive  of  piling  at  the 
boom,  costs  50c  per  cord. 
B.     Rafting. 

Loose  logs  are  tied  into  rafts  at  a  place  where  the  flow  of  the 

creeks  and   rivers   begins   to   be   more   gentle. 
Only  rarely  are  rafts  used  in  connection  with  splash   dams  on 

very  rapid  streams.  (Black  Forest.) 
According  to  the  size  and  species  of  logs,  rafts  are  formed 
either  with  the  logs  lying  with  the  stream  (longleaf  pine 
rafts  etc.),  or  with  the  logs  lying  square  to  the  stream. 
In  this  latter  case  the  length  of  the  logs  sho'uld  not  exceed 
eighteen  feet.  Square  rafts  consist  usually  of  hardwood 
logs. 
I.     Logs   with   the   stream. 

(a)  The  logs   are  joined   into   raft   sections,   each    sec- 

tion one  log  long;  the  narrow  end  of  the  log 
points  down  stream ;  joining  usually  by  rope, 
cable  or  cham  ;  ring  dogs  or  eye  dogs  are  used, 
or  wooden  pins  in  connection  with  auger  holes. 

(b)  At  the  tail   section  the  rear  ends  of  the  logs  are 

allowed  to  spread  fan  shaped. 

(c)  The    raft    is    directed   by   long    rudders    (sweeps), 

by  brakes  (poles  which  are  pressed  against  the 
bottom   of  the  river)    and  pike   poles. 

(d)  The  width  of  the  raft  and  the  tightness  of  bind- 

ing  depend   on   rapidity  of  the   stream,   span   of 
bridges    to    be    passed,    sharpness    of    bends    of 
river   and   width   of  river  bed. 
Remarks:    Ring  dogs  for  rafting  weigh  about  lYi  pounds, 
arc  four  inches  long  and  have  a  2H-inch  ring,  through 
which  rope  is  run.     Price  loc  apiece. 
Eye  dogs  are  made  of  ^-inch  round  iron,  are  six  inches 
long   and   cost  6c   per  pound. 
II.     Logs  square   to  stream. 

(a)    The  ends  are  joined  by  cross  poles,  sometimes  im- 
bedded   in  the   logs  and   held   in   place  by  pins 


FOREST    UTILIZATIOX  27 

driven  into  auger  holes,  or  l)y  chain  rafting 
dogs,  consisting  of  two  small  wedges  joined  by 
two  rings  and  five  links  of  chain.  Weight  2J2 
pounds.     Price  12c. 

(b)  The  logs  must  have  about  equal   length.     Species 

not  floatable  otherwise  are  tied  up  with  floaters 
of  pine,  j'ellow  poplar,  cottonwood  and  linden. 
In    the    ^Mississippi    two    oak   logs    are    floated    by 
three  cottonwood  logs. 

(c)  Such  rafts  are  naturally  stiff  and  cannot  be  used 

on   rapid   streams.     The  narrow*  and   wide  ends 
of   the  logs   should   alternate   so  as   to   keep  the 
sections   straight. 
C.     Flumes. 

Flumes  resemble  chutes  made  of  boards.     They  must  be  water 
tight.     They  are  largely  used  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
I.     A  V-shaped  cross   section  has  proven  best.      Side  boards 
are  equally  long,  about  16  feet,  in  double  layers.    Angle 
of  the  \' =    110°.     Top  width  is  3  feet  to  4  feet. 
II.     An   even  constant  grade  of  from   1%  to  3%   is  necessary, 
also  slight  curves  and  large  water  supply,  which  is  often 
obtained  from  artificial  reservoirs.     High  trestle  bridges 
are   sometimes    required. 
III.     The  main  flume  has  a  number  of  tributaries.     A  crew  is 
stationed  along  the  flume ;  special  attention  is  given  to 
the  inlets  of  tributaries.     Patrol  trails  along  the  flume. 
I\'.     The  fluming  of  logs  is   said  to  be  unsuccessful.     In  the 
West,  anyhow,  the  size  and  weight  of  the  logs  would 
prevent  fluming.     Nowadays  either  planks  or  heavy  di- 
mension stuff,  to  be  resawn  at  the  outlet   of  the  flume, 
are   sent  down.     Only  coniferous  lumber  is   flumed. 
The    lumber    in    the    flume    forms    one    continuous    chain; 
this    arrangement    prevents    the    lumber    from    sticking 
and  catching  at  the  side  Avails  of  the  flume. 
V.     Famous     flumes     are     those     at     Chico — Sierra     Nevada 
range    (40   miles    of   flume),    the    flume   of   the    Bridal 
Veil  Lumber  Company  and  the  Great  Madeira  flume,  all 
in    California.      The    last    is    54   miles    long   and   has    a 
daily  carrying   capacity   of  400.000   feet   of   lumber.      It 
cost  only  $5.coo  per  mile. 
The    scarcity   of    water    in    California    is   the    greatest   ob- 
stacle to  the  continuous  use  of  flumes. 
D.     Water  transportation  over  lakes   and  sea   is  effected   in   the   fol- 
lowing way : 

I.  In  the  "fiords"  of  the  Pacific  coast,  logs  standing  upright 
are  chained  together  so  as  to  form  a  stockade  in  which 
the  other  logs  are  similarly  placed,  filling  it  tightly. 
Such  stockades  hold  about  half-  a  million  board  feet  of 


28  FOREST    UTIIJZATIOX 

lumber  at  a  time  and  form  a  seaproof  raft,  pulled  to  the 
mill  by  tugboats. 
II.  Logs  chained  together  in  the  form  of  a  cigar-shaped  raft 
after  various  patterns  have  proven  a  failure.  These 
rafts  were  taken  from  the  Oregon  and  Washington 
coast  to  San  Francisco,  being  launched  like  a  steamboat 
and  towed  by  tugboats.  To  judge  from  newspaper  re- 
ports cigar-shaped  rafts  of  boards  have  proven  a  suc- 
cess. 
The  steamship  companies  consider  cigar-shaped  rafts  a 
great  danger  to  navigation. 
III.  In  carrying  logs  across  the  lakes  in  the  Adirondacks  and 
Lake  States,  light  ring  booms  are  used.  The  logs  are 
placed  in  such  booms  at  "the  landing"  and  are  rafted 
(driven)  to  the  outlet  of  the  lake  either  by  wind,  cur- 
rent or  tugboat. 

§  X.       TUAr.£TORTATI01>    ON    LAND    WITH    VEHICLES. 

A..     Sleighs  and   sleds. 

I.  Hand  sleighs,  home  made,  very  light,  are  frequently  used 
abroad  at  grades  of  io%  and  more.  Man  sits  in  front 
of  load  and  directs  with  legs  and  side  brake.  On  steep 
slopes  such  sleighs  are  used  in  summer  as  well.  Fifty 
cubic  feet  is  an  average  load  for  one  man.  The  work- 
man carries  his  sleigh  back  uphill  on  his  shoulders 
for  the  next  load. 

Sleighing  roads  for  summer  sleighing  frequently  have 
cross  ties  at  short  intervals  to  be  kept  greased  at  slight 
grades. 
II.  The  American  sled  has  nothing  in  common  with  the 
European  sled.  A  team  of  horses  is  always  used  for 
motive  power. 

The  sleigh,  or  sled,  consists  of  two  sets : 

The  front  set  has  a  tongue  of  rock  elm  or  oak  and  a 
front  roller  in  which  the  tongue  is  set.  Runners  are  7 
feet  to  9  feet  long,  3  inches  to  4  inches  wide,  shod  with 
y2-inch  steel  shoes  or  cast  iron  shoes  either  below 
only  or  both  above  and  below;  they  are  either  slightly 
convex  or  flat.  The  front  of  the  runner  should  be  of  a 
natural  curve  or  crook,  not  hewn.  Material  is  white 
oak.  The  cross  beams,  either  ironed  or  plain,  rest  in 
saddles   or  nose   plates  with   knees. 

The  "back  roll"  of  the  hind  set  is  coupled  to  the  front  set 
by  chains  attached  to  the  center  of  the  front  cross 
beam.  There  is  no  tongue  to  the  hind  set. 
III.  Log  binders  are  used  on  loading  chains  to  take  about  half 
a  foot  of  slack  nut  of  the  chain,  unless  the  same  end  is 
secured  by  poles  and  the  twisting  of  the  binding  chain. 


FOREST    UTJLIZATIOX 


29 


IV.     The  usual  load  of  a  sleigh  is  five  tons,  while  a  wagon  car- 
ries only  two  tons  on  an  average. 

The  actual  load  depends  on  distance,  grade  and  condition 
of  road.  In  the  Adirondacks  "about  2,000  board  feet 
form  a  load;  in  Ontario  1.500  feet  of  white  pine  or 
spruce. 
V.  Sledding  roads  are  constructed  in  the  Adirondacks  at  an 
expense  of  $25  to  $150  per  mile.  The  sledding  dis- 
tance is  said  not  to  exceed  three  miles,  usually.  The 
teaming  expense  is  about  loc  per  1,000  board  feet  per 
mile. 

The  relative  distance  of  snaking  and  sledding  depends 
on  configuration  and  density  of  stand.  Sledding  roads 
are  preferably  built  on  swampy  soil.  Heavy  grades  re- 
quire a  hea%-y  outlay  for  sanding;  insufficient  grades  a 
heavy  outlay  for  icing.  Carelessness  in  surveying  sleigh 
roads  is  extremely  expensive  in  short,  mild,  snowless 
winters.  The  modern  lumberman  surveys  his  roads 
with  instrument  in  hand,  coropleting  them  before  snow- 
fall. 

To  begin  with,  an  empty  or  lightly  loaded  sleigh  is  run 
over  the  road  to  mark  and  set  the  track. 

B.  •  Transportation  on  two-wheelers. 

I.     High  wheelers,  wheels  7  feet  to  10  feet  high,  are  used  in 
the  pineries  of  the  South,  in  California,  and  to  a  cer- 
tain extent   in  the   Lake   States    for  hauling   coniferous 
logs  of   1.14    feet   average   diameter  and   of   extra   long 
length. 
Logs  are  loaded  underneath  the  axle,  either  by  using  the 
tongue  as  a  lever  or  with  the  help  of  a  second  axle 
having  the  form  of  a  winch   (Southern  method). 
Logging  distance  in  the  South  not  to  exceed  half  a  mile, 
average   one-quarter   of  a  mile.     Expense  $1   per   i.ooo 
board  feet. 
The  best   makes  are : 

Bodley  Wagon  Co.,  Staunton,  Va.;  Snyder  Wagon  Co., 
Shreveport,  La. 
Prices  from  $ico  to  $150. 
II.  Low  wheelers,  usually  called  "Bummers."  the  wheels  con- 
sisting of  a  solid  tree  section  held  by  iron  rims  ij/^  feet 
in  diameter.  The  top  of  the  axle  is  even  with  the  top 
of  the  wheels.  The  tongue  is  only  six  feet  long  and 
merely  used  as  a  lever  in  loading.  The  bummer  is 
pulled  by  chain  attached  to  point  of  tongue  and  is 
loaded  by  placing  axle  parallel  to  log  close  to  center 
of  log.  with  the  tongue  standing  perpendicular,  the 
log  being  fastened  to  the  axle  by  short  chains  and 
dogs. 


30  FOREST    UTILIZATIOX 

High   and   low   wheelers   are   used  on   undulating  ground 
for    downhill    pull    on    soil    free     from     rock,     swampy 
places,  debris  and  brush. 
C     Log  wagons.     Log  wagons  are  entirely  used  for  transportation 
in  the  old  country,   where  the  forests  are  traversed  by  a  net- 
work of  well  graded  stone  roads.     Wagons  are  always  hand- 
made,  of  light  weight   and  carry  up  to   17  tons  of  logs. 

In  carrying  long  boles,  the  front  and  hind  trucks  are  separated. 
Steep  curves  can  be  made  if  the  rear  ends  of  the  logs  are  fast- 
ened underneath  the  axle  of  the  hind  truck. 

The  American  wagon  has  a  track  width,  from  center  to  center 
of  tire,  of  4  feet  6  inches  or  5  feet. 

Wheels  are  usually  made  entirely  of  white  oak.  The  wood  is 
well  seasoned.  The  tire  is  3  inches,  5  inches  and  over.  Front 
and  hind  wheels  usually  equally  high — 2  feet  to  3^^  feet.  Eight 
wheelers  are   now  widely  advertised. 

Skeins  are  preferably  made  of  welded  steel  instead  of  cast,  3. 
inches  to  5  inches  in  diameter. 

Steel  axles  have  not  proven  a  success,  owing  to  difficulty  of 
repairs  in  the  backwoods.  Bolsters  should  reach  to  or  over 
the  top  of  the  wheels. 

The  reach  should  allow  of  changing  distance  between  front  and 
rear  set. 

Main  requirements  are: 
L     Strength. 
IF.     Possibility  of  repairs  in  the  woods. 

III.  Low   point   of   gravitation. 

IV.  Ease  of  loading. 
V.     Ea.se  in  turning. 

VI.     Light    weight   of   wagon    itself. 

Prices  for  log  wagons  range  from  $80  to  $200  according  to  carry- 
ing capacity.  Weight  from  800  to  i,8co  pounds.  Carrying  ca- 
pacity ir^  to  5  tons. 
D.  Traction  engines.  Traction  engines  are  largely  used  abroad  and 
have  proven  very  successful  recently  in  the  South  African 
war.  In  fnisriuing  lumber  from  mill  to  city  or  depot  they  are 
used  in  tlu'  United  States  on  a  small  scale,  since  stone  roads 
seem  to  be  a  prerequisite;  loose  sand,  deep  mud  or  swamp  are 
impracticable  for  traction  engines.  In  Pennsylvania  four- 
wheelers  co.sting  $i,5Co  for  a  i6-horsepower  compound  engine 
and  able  to  climb  m%  grades  and  to  turn  30  feet  curves  have 
proven  a  failure,  since  the  use  of  traction  engines  plows  the 
roads  during  rain. 
In  the  California  mountains,  where  drouth  prevails  during  six 
months  of  the  year,  the  three-wheelers  manufactured  by  the 
Best  Company,  of  San  Leandro,  Cal.,  have  been  largely  and 
successfully  introduced.  Very  high  wheels  and  broad  tread 
cause  little  injury  to  the  route  traveled.     The  boiler  is  a  com- 


FOREST    VTILlZAriOX  31 

bination  of  upright  and  horizontal,  concentrating  weight  on  the 
driving  wheels  and  preventing  water  and  fuel  from  dropping 
back  from  the  pipes  on  steep  grades.  Engines  are  said  to  be 
able  to  climb  30%  grades  and  to  climb  over  logs,  brush,  stone 
etc.  Front  wheel  is  for  steering  only,  with  front  drum  for 
skidding  logs  by  wire  cable. 

E.  Pole   roads.     A  statistic  of  1886  finds  in   the  United  States  over 

2,oco  miles  of  pole  roads,  using  over  400  locomotives  and  over 

5, coo  trucks. 
I.  The  rails  are  made  of  straight,  preferably  coniferous  poles, 
sufiicienlly  trimmed  to  fit  the  double  flange  of  the  truck 
wheels.  On  suitable  soil  no  ties  are  required,  the  rail 
being  gradually  pressed  into  the  ground. 
Sawn  rails,  preferably  consisting  of  several  layers  of 
boards,  must  be  used  in  curves  of  the  pole  road  and  are 
still  largely  used  near  mills  on   steep  and  short  grades. 

II.  Trucks.  I'he  wheels  should  not  turn  with  the  axle.  An 
oval  concave  rim  said  to  be  inferior  to  a  flat  rim  with 
heavy  flanges. 
Each  wheel  has  about  2  inches  room  for  side  play.  "The 
reach  should  turn  like  a  swivel  in  hind  and  front 
set,  allowing  all  wheels  to  stay  on  the  track. 
III.  All  lumbermen  now  agree  that  pole  roads  are  impracticable 
for  locomotives.  On  sawn  rails  locomotives  are  still 
used,  however,  when  prices  of  steel  are  high,  grade 
steep,  distance  short  and  use  intended  for  a  short  while 
only.  Sawn  wooden  rails  do  not  allow  of  heavy  loads 
and,  consequently,  seem  unadvisable  just  for  logging 
by  steam  engines. 

F.  Forest   railroads. 

I.     Portable  forest  railroads. 

In  American  lumbering  portable  railroads  are  little  used. 
The  sections  of  which  portable  railroads  consist  are 
necessarily  light  and,  consequently,  unfit  for  the  heavy 
traffic  of  American  lumbering.  In  Europe  the  sections 
are  usually  614  feet  long,  have  21/2  feet  gauge  and 
weigh  80  pounds.  Steel  ties  are  preferable  at  the  ends 
so  as  to  have  the  joints  supported  by  ties.  The  sec- 
tions are  joined  by  a  hook  arrangement  without  being 
bolted  together. 

Usually  the  sections  are  merely  laid  on  wood  roads.  Mo- 
tive power  is  supplied  by  gravity,  men  or  horses.  Wheel 
flanges  usually  on  both  sides  of  the  rail.  Rail  sections 
of  trapeze  form  are  sometimes  used  in  building  curves. 
Bridge   switches  are  preferable  to  split  switches. 

In  the  wood  yard  at  Biltmorc  sections  of  wooden  rails 
were   used,  the  ties  being  replaced  by   iron  rods.     The 


FOREST    UTILIZATIOX 

top  of  the  rail  was  shod  with  a  strip  of  ^-inch  iron, 
the  ends  joined  by  hook  and  pin,  and  by  hole  and  pin. 
Steel  sectional  tracks  of  2>4-inch  gauge  are  manufactured 
by  the  C.  W.  Hunt  Co.,  New  York.  The  trucks  used 
have  the  wheel  flange  outside.  Curves  and  switches  are 
ready  made.  Straight  sections  are  6  feet  to  20  feet 
long. 
Stationary  track. 

(a)  Grade.     A   proper   survey   is    very   essential.      For 

steep  grades  (over  7%)  a  soft  rail  is  required. 
Grades  of  11%  are  feasible  on  straight  track  for 
locomotives  having  eight  drivers. 

High  percentage  for  very  short  distance  is,  how- 
ever, permissible. 

Logging  roads  in  the  South  have  grades  running 
up  to  15%  for  uphill  traffic,  obtaining  the  neces- 
sary impetus  by  a  corresponding  downhill  grade. 
The  expense  of  maintaining  the  track  and  the 
frequency  of  accidents  render  steep  grades  highly 
expensive. 

The  standard  railroads  have  never  over  4% 
grade. 

(b)  Curves.     The  minimum  radius  of  curves  depends 

on  gauge  of  track;  distance  betAveen  axles  of 
front  and  hind  trucks;  length  of  timber  to  be 
carried  and  grade  in  the  curve.  Curvature  is 
measured  by  the  subtended-  angle,  the  (secant) 
chord  of  which  is  lOO  feet.  Standard  railroads 
do  not  allow  of  an  angle  exceeding  10%. 
In  curves,  to  relieve  the  increased  friction,  and, 
further,  to  prevent  the  trucks  from  jumping  the 
track,  owing  to  centrifugal  force,  three  remedies 
are   required : 

1.  Lessened  speed  and  reduced  grade. 

Li  practice  for  standard  gauge  of  s^Vi 
inches,  for  each  degree  of  curvature  the 
grade  is  released  by  0.02%  ;  for  narrow 
gauge  by  0.03%. 

2.  The    outer    rail    is    elevated    for    standard 

track  by  J/^-inch  for  every  degree  of 
curvature;  for  36-inch  gauge  (usual  nar- 
row gauge)  by  1-3  inch  for  each  degree 
of  curvature. 

3.  The   track   is    widened    in    curves   by    1-16 

inch  for  every  2J/2  degrees  of  curvature. 

(c)  Rails.     The  form  is  usually  the   T   rail.     Grooved 

rails,  flat  rails,  rails  inclined  toward  center  of 
track   etc.    are   freaks   merely.      In   logging   rail- 


I- ORES T    LTJLIZATIOX  33 

roads  the  rails  are  often  fastened  lengthwise  oa 
sawn  or  hewn  stringers,  which  arrangement 
allows  of  light  rail.  The'  gauge  is  measured 
inside  the  tops  of  the  rails  if  the  flange  is  inside, 
and  outside  the  rails  if  the  flange  is  outside.  If 
the  wheel  has  a  double  flange,  measure  frorre 
center  to  center  of  rails. 

In  lumbering  operations,  the  standard  gauge  (56J/2 
inches)  is  generally  preferred,  since  heavier 
loads  can  be  taken  and  since  the  rolling  stock 
can  be  disposed  of  more  readily  at  the  end  of 
operations.  Of  the  narrow  gauges  36  inches  is 
best,  since  the  odd  gauges  prevent  ready  exchange 
of  addition  to  and  sale  of  rolling  material. 

In  mountainous  sections  narrow  gauge  is  preferred. 
Here  the  expense  of  wide  gauge  track  is  too 
high,  since  it  requires  flatter  curves,  smaller 
grades  and  largely  increased  outlay  for  roadbed. 

In  standard  lumbering  operations  a  heavy  (56 
pounds)  rail  is  now  preferred,  the  up-keep  of 
track  being  cheaper,  the  bed  for  the  track  being 
less  expensive  and  fewer  ties  being  required  for 
the  heavy  rail.  Light  rails  are  so  twisted,  after 
short  use,  that  they  cannot  be  sold  at  second 
hand.  For  36-inch  gauge  a  rail  weighing  16 
pounds  to  20  pounds  is  best. 

Rule  for  number  of  tons  of  rail  required  pef 
mile : 

1.  Tons  of  2.000  pounds. 

^lultiply  the  weight  of  the  rail  by  7/4  and 
you  obtain  the  number  of  tons  required 
per  mile.  For  example,  20-pQimd  rail  x 
7/4  =  35  tons. 

2.  Tons   of  2,240  pounds    (after  which   rails 

are  usually  sold). 

■Multiply  weight  of  rail  by  11/7  instead 
of  by  7/4. 

The  price  per  ton  of  rail  (steel)  varies 
from  $25  to  $35. 

The  interdependence  between  locomotive's 
weight  and  minimum  weight  of  rail  per- 
missible is  given  by  the  following  equa- 
tion : 


wherein  zf  stands  for  weight  of  locomo- 
tive in  tons;    h    stands   for   number  of 


34 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

drivers;    r  stands   for  minimnm   weight 
of  rail  in  pounds. 
Estimates    of   cost    of   track,    exclusive    of 
roiling    stock    and    bridge   arrangements, 
vary   from  $1,300  to  $4,300  per  mile   for 
easy   grading.     One-half  of  the   expense 
in  this  case  is  for  rails,  spikes  and  splice 
joints  (fish  plates). 
The  grading  and  laying  of  track  costs   from  $300 
to  $i,coo  per   mile  for  easy  grading;   and   cross 
ties  cost  about  as  much. 
Estimate  of  cost  per  mile  for 

1.  Sixteen-pound  steel   rail,  requiring 

25  tons  of  rail  @  %2,2  per  ton.$  800.00 
1,780  pounds  of  3^x^  in.  spikes 

at  2c  per  pound 35-6o 

357    splice  joints   at   20c 7140 

2,640  cross  ties  at   15c 396.00 

Grading   and   track  laying 500.00 

Total   $1,803.00 

2.  40-pound    steel    rail,    requiring    63 

tons  of  rail  at  $30  per  ton $1,890.00 

4,690  pounds  of  4x1^  in.  spikes  at 

2c  a  pound 93-8o 

357  splice  joints  at  40c  each 142.80 

2.640  cross  ties  at  25c  each 660.CO 

Grading   and   laying  track 1,000.00 

Total   $3,786.60 

(d)     Cars. 

Cars  consisting  of  two  trucks,  of  two  axles  each, 
form   the    rule. 

The  trucks  should  be  very  low  and  should  have 
short  distance  between  axles  where  curves 
are  heavy.  For  narrow  gauge  tracks,  special 
trucks  are  constructed  costing  from  $50  to  $80. 
While  steel  trucks  are  more  satisfactory  in  the 
old  country,  in  America  trucks  with  wooden 
framing  and  wooden  bolsters  are  ustially  pre- 
ferred, owing  to  greater  ease  of  repair  far  from 
factory. 

The  bearings  are  frequently  outside  as  well  as 
inside  the  wheels,  so  as  to  have  the  frame  sup- 
ported at  eight  instead  of  at  four  points  of 
the  two  axles.  The  bolsters,  swiveled  on  the 
frame,  are  very  frequently  much  longer 
(wider)    than   the  axles. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  35 

The   weight   and   capacity   of   logging   cars   should 
be    as    follows: 

Capacity 
Weight  in  lbs.     in  board  feet. 

4  wheel  cars     3,000  lbs.  T,ooob.  ft. 

4  wheel  cars     4,000  lbs.  1,500  b.  ft. 

4  wheel  cars     5,ooo  lbs.  2,000  b.  ft. 

4  wheel  cars     6,000  lbs.  2,500  b.  ft. 

8  wheel  cars     6.900  lbs.  2,000  b.  ft. 

8  wheel  cars     8,400  lbs.  3,000  b.  ft. 

8  wheel  cars     9,600  lbs.  4,000  b.  ft. 

8  wheel  cars    11,000  lbs.  S,ooob.  ft. 

(e)     Locomotives. 

Logging    locomotives     are    manufactured    by    the 

Baldwin  Locomotive  Works,  Philadelphia; 

H.  K.  Porter,  Pittsburg,  Pa.; 

Climax  Mfg.  Co.,  Corry,  Pa. ; 

Stearns  Locomotive  Co.,  Erie,  Pa.   (for  Heissler 
geared  locomotives). 
The  price  is  practically  independent  of  the  gauge, 

being   influenced  more  by  horsepower. 
Four    driving    wheels    are    usually    suflficient.      On 

steep    grades,    six    wheels    and,    on    very    steep 

grades,    eight    wheels   are    used. 
The    resistance    to    be    overcome    by    the    tractive 

force   is : 

1.  Gravity,  which  increases  in  exact  propor- 

tion to  steepness  of  grade  expressed  in 
per  cent.  Thus  it  is  always  20  pounds 
per  ton  for  each  per  cent. 

2.  Friction  of  the  journals  and  of  the  wheel 

flanges  against  the  rails,  which  depends, 
aside  from  curvatures,  on  quality  of 
the  track  and  of  rolling  stock.  It  is 
at  least  5  pounds  per  ton ;  it  amounts  to 
6^  pounds  for  first  class  equipment; 
to  20  pounds  to  40  pounds  for  bad 
equipment,  and  in  extreme  cases  it  rises 
to  ICO  pounds. 

Tractive  force  is  understood  to  be  one-fifth  of 
the  weight,  in  pounds,  on  the  driving 
wheels,  expressed  in  tons. 

For   instance: 

Weight  on  driving  wheels  25,000  pounds, 
divided  by  5=5,000  pounds ;  and  S,ooo 
tons  is  therefore  the  tractive  force  of 
the    engine. 


36  FOREST    UTILIZATION 


The  hauling  capacity  of  an  engine  is :  tractive 
force  divided '  by  the  sum  of  the  fric- 
tional  and  gravity  resistance,  both  ex- 
pressed in  pounds,  deducting  the  weight 
of  the  locomotive  from  the  quotient. 
For  example: 

Weight  of  locomptive  on  4  driving  wheels 
=  20,000  pounds.  Tractive  force  is  4,000 
tons. 

First  case — Frictional  resistance  8  pounds  per 
ton,  grade  level.  Then  the  hauling  ca- 
pacity equals  4,000  tons  over  8  (friction) 
plus   o    (gravity)    minus    10  :=  490  tons. 

4000 


-minus  10  =  490  tons. 


8+0  _     _    . 

Second    ca^c — Frictional    resistance    same    as 
above,  grade  1%. 

4C00 

minus  10  =  133  tons. 

8+20 

Third  case — Frictional    resistance    8    pounds. 
grade  2%. 

400.') 

minus  10  =  73  tons. 

8+40 

The  cost  of  hauling  logs  on  a  standard  rail- 
road,    per     carload     of    40,000     pounds, 
amounts   to  $5   for   distances   of  one  to 
fifty  miles,    and  to  $6   for   distances   of 
fifty  to  one  hundred  miles. 
Porter's   catalogue   gives    the   cost   of  hauling 
as    ranging    from    30c    to    6oc    per    1,000 
b.    ft.    for   a    logging   distance    of    from 
five   to    ten    miles.     At    Chicora,    Ala., 
two    standard    trains    provide    daily,    to- 
gether,   100,000    b.    ft.,    coming    from    a 
distance    of    about    eight    miles. 
Small    (narrow  gauge)   locomotives  haul  from 
60,000   to    120,000  b.    ft.   per   week  over 
distances  of  from  five  to  ten  miles. 
Where  grades  are  not  excessive,  a  locomotive 
should    cover   daily   60   to  80   miles,   the 
hauling   distance   varying   from   2    to    10 
miles. 
G.     Mono  rail. 

The    mono     rail     portable     railway    is     a     French     invention 

(Caillet)   and  has  been  tried  to  a  limited  extent  in  India. 
It  consists  of  one  rail   only,   resting  on   steel    sole   plates  at 
intervals   of   a    few    feet,    and    is   laid    down    direct    on    the 
surface  of  the  ground.     Rails  are  joined  together  by  scab- 
bard fish  plates.     The  trucks  have  two  low  wheels,  grooved 


fOREST    UTILIZATION  37 

at  the  rim,  the  carriage  hanging  between  the  wheels  a  few 
inches  above  the  rail.  Cars  are  balanced  by  a  telescopic 
rod  and  kept  in  balance,  like  a  bicycle,  by  the  motive  power 
itself,  which  consists  of  an  animal  hitched  in  a  frame  along- 
side of  the  carriage. 

The  mono  rail   system  might  be  applicable  in  the  transporta- 
tation  of  bark,  cordwood  and  minerals. 
H.     Cable  way  logging. 

The   logs   are    suspended    from   a   cable   and  are   not   dragged 
on  the  ground. 

I.  On  steep  slopes,   the   grade  being  35%  to   50%,   the  logs 

slide  down  by  gravity,  being  suspended  from  two 
trolley  blocks  held  apart  by  a  strong  rod  or  pole,  about 
15  feet  long.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  cable,  curved  iron 
rails  lead,  like  a  bridge  switch,  onto  the  cable.  The 
cable  is  kept  tight  by  heavy  drums,  over  which  the 
cabfe  runs  at  the  ends.  It  is  said  to  wear  out  in  about 
eight  years. 

The  'jpeed  of  the  block  carriage  is  regulated  by  manila 
roi-.e,  wire  or  light  wire  cable,  and  the  empty  block 
carriage  is  carried  backward  by  the  same  rope  without 
any  motive  power  other  than  that  of  a  loaded  block 
carriage  going  down  hill.  Proper  switches  allow  the 
empty  block  carriage  to  pass  the  loaded  one  at  a 
half-way  point.  The  price  of  i-inch  wire  cable  is 
about  15c  per  foot. 

In  Switzerland  lines  two  miles  long  are  found,  without 
any  supports.  In  the  Hartz  Mountains  supports  are 
given  every  700  feet  and  the  expense  is  $800  per  mile 
for  entire  equipment. 

In  Oregon  and  western  North  Carolina  short  cable  con- 
duits of-  this  character  are  in  successful  use,  and  in 
India  (in  the  Himalayas)  the  most  extensive  plants  of 
this  character  are  said  to  exist. 

II.  In    swamps    of   the   Atlantic   coast,    where    railroading   is 

difficult,  the  system  of  the  Trenton  Iron  Co.  and  of  the 
Lidgerwood  ^lanufacturing  Co.  have  been  tried  which 
move  the  block  carriage  holding  the  logs  in  suspense 
over  a  cable  either  by  steam  power  or  by  electricity. 

(a)  In  case  of  steam  power,  the  engine  is 
placed  either  on  a  scow  swimming  in 
the  swamp,  in  the  river,  in  the  logging 
canal  cut  by  powerful  dredges,  or  on  a 
railroad  car,  the  logging  outfit  costing 
about  $7,500  per  mile  (including  lateral 
rig),  consisting  of: 
One-inch  carrying  cable  and  double  traction 
rope ; 


38  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

Double  block   carriage   with    diflferential   hoist 

and  log  grip; 
Brackets,    supporting  the  cable ; 
Steam    engine    with    hoisting    drum ; 
Lateral     hauling-in    rig,    by    which     logs    are 

dragged  to  the  main  carrying  line  over 

distances  running  up  to  i,ooo  feet, 
(b)     In    case    of    electric    power,    the    outfit, 

costing  $6,200  per  mile,  consists  of : 
One-inch    carrying    cable    and    3^-inch    single 

current    rope,     which     is     swung    thrice 

over  a  grooved   sheave ; 
Generating  machines  and  20-horsepower  steam 

engine ; 
Carriage,    including   the   log   support    and    the 

motor   with    sheave,   which   has   a    speed 

of   six   miles  an   hour. 
I.     Loading  arrangements  are   required,   wherever   vehicles  are  used, 
except  for  bummers. 
L     Loading  on  wagons. 

(a)  Sliding   logs    from   a   higher   bank   onto   vehicles. 

Only  one  layer  can  thus  be  loaded  conveniently. 

(b)  Rolling  logs  up  an  incline,    either    with    peavies 

or  rope,  the  top  of  the  incline  resting  on  the 
tops  of  the  wheels. 

(c)  A    (drum)    winch   in   front   of  wagon,   incline   be- 

hind  wagon,   pulling  logs   up  by  rope. 

(d)  Tackle  block  attached  to  a  tree,  the  wagon  stand- 

ing between  the  tree  and  log;  the  end  of  rope 
attached  to  outside  wheel  and  the  free  end 
pulled  by  animals. 

(e)  The    skidway    scheme.      Trained    horses    running 

on  prepared  track  opposite  the  skidway.  Two 
poles  leading  from  skidway  to  wagon;  rope 
running  from  outer  wheel  of  wagon  under  and 
around  the  log  and  back  over  the  wagon  to  the 
horses. 

(f)  A  jack,  consisting  of  a  gear  wheel  and  a   toothed 

iron  rod. 

(g)  German  lever  arrangement. 
II.     Loading  on  railroad  cars. 

Additional  methods. 

(a)  A  huge  tripod  and  Weston's  differential  hoist. 

(b)  A    drum   and    wire    cable    rig,    the    loading   cable 

running  over  a  tackle  block  suspended  over 
track. 

(c)  Cranes  or  derricks  as  used  on  the  harbor  docks, 

a    special    make    of    which    is    known     as    the 


FOREST    UTILIZATIOS  39 

"Decker  log  loader."'  There  is  some  mechanical 
difficulty  in  constructing  loaders  of  a  sufficient 
angle  of  leverage. 

§  XI.      CHOICE   BETWEEN    THE    VARIOUS    SYSTEMS    OF    TRANSPORTATION. 

Conditions  governing  the  selection  of  means  of  transportation  are: 

A.  Topography.     Steep  grades  make  it  advisable  to  send  products 

down  by  their  own  weight,  so  that  animals  and  vehicles  need 
not  reascend  the  grade. 

B.  Periodicity  of   rain   and   snow    fall    (West    Virginia    for    spring 

rains,  Lake  States  for  snow  fall,  California  for  spring  drouth) 
invite  the  use  of  means  relying  -on  water  supply,  on  layers 
of  snow,  on  dry  soil. 

C.  Rocky    soil   entails   blasting   expenses   and   thus   bars   railroading 

and  road  building.  Wet  or  swampy  soil  requires  an  artificial 
surface  on  which  means  of  transportation  are  placed. 

D.  Existence  of  drivable  creeks  and  rivers,  their  grade,  rockiness, 

curves,  steadiness  of  flow,  the  spans  and  number  of  bridges 
crossing  them,  the  danger  or  help  expected  from  freshets  are 
factors  bearing  on  the  advisability  of  water  courses  used  as 
means  of  transportation.  Electric  power  derivable  from  water 
falls  might  be  used  as  motive  power  in  days  to  come. 

E.  Availability  of  building  material  in  the  forest,  especially  the  price 

of  rails  and  ties  and  quality  of  stone    etc. 

F.  Total  amount  of  stumpage.  and  stumpage  per  acre  to  be  carried 

away  from  a  given  locality  annually,  periodically  or  once 
only. 

G.  Maximum    weight    and    size,    also    average    weight    and    size    of 

pieces   to  be  handled. 
H.     Price  and  effect  of  day  labor  and  prospects  of  changing  prices 

under  the  influence  of  labor  laws  and  socialistic  legislation. 
I.     Relative   price  of  team  labor  and   of   manual   labor.     The   ratio 
between  price  of  hand  labor  and  team  labor  abroad  is  i  to  8. 
In  this  country  it  is   i  to  2'/<  :    in  Lake   States  even  less,  viz., 
I   to  2. 
J.     Condition    of    existing    public    means    of    transportation;    roads, 

railroads    and   navigable    rivers. 
K.     Laws  relative  to  rights  of  way  and  relative  to  damage  inflicted 
on  outsiders  in  the  course  of  transportation,  i.  e.,  by  splashing 
logs;  raising  wster  level  of  lakes  and  thus  destroying  trees  etc. 
L.     Mileage  of  the  various  links  forming  the  chain  of  transportation 
and   speculation  as  to  the  building  of  additional  public   links 
of  transportation. 
M.     Silvicultural  considerations,  or  choice  between  conservative  and 
destructive   lumbering. 
Donkey  engines  arc  the  destroyers  of  any  second  growth  left  on 

the  ground  and  should  be  used  only  in  clear  cutting. 
High  two  wheel  logging  carts  are  used  abroad  to  save  young 
growth. 


40  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

N.  Possibility  and  amount  of  damage  to  logs  and  loss  of  logs  in 
course  of  transportation.  Loss  of  bark.  Loss  of  sap-wood. 
Deterioration  by  fungi  and  insects.  Theft.  Loss  of  interest 
on  value  of  logs. 

O.     Regularity  and   reliability  of   means   of   transportation. 

P.  Possibility  of  using  the  means  of  transportation  for  purposes 
other  than  carrying  forest  products  (access  to  mines  and 
farms;  passenger  traffic;  supplies  for  lumber  camps;  use  of 
snaking  roads  as  fire  lanes,  patrol  trails,  sport  trails). 

Q.  The  general  political  and  economic  condition  of  the  country 
(settled  or  unsettled)  ;  the  possibility  of  financial  surprises. 


part  flU.    /iDanufacture  ot  Wioo^  iProDucts. 

CHAPTER  IV.     FOUNDATIONS  OF  MANUFACTURE. 

§  Xir.      THE    AMERICAN    FORESTER    AS    A    LUMBERMAN. 

In  the  old  countrj',  a  large  portion  of  the  products  grown  in  the 
forest  go  to  the  holders  of  prescriptive  rights  (easements).  The  balance 
is  sold  either  under  private  contract  or  at  public  auction  or  under  sealed 
bids. 

In  France,  standing  stumpage  is  sold,  while  in  Germany  the  trees  are 
dissected,  at  the  owner's  expense,  into  assortments  required  by  the  local 
manufacturing  trades. 

Usually,  in  the  old  country,  the  raw  products  of  the  forest  are  not 
refined  by  the  forest  owner.  The  forest'  industries  are  m  the  hands  of 
parties  who  do  not  own  or  control  an  acre  of  woodland. 

In  Canada,  timber  leases  or  timber  limits  are  sold  at  public  auction. 
The  purchaser  pays,  aside  from  the  auction  price,  an  annual  rental  (so 
called  ground  rent)  and,  further,  for  every  i,coo  feet  b.  m.  cut,  a  specified 
royalty.     Neither  ground  rent  nor  royalty  is  object  of  the  auction  sale. 

On  the  forest  reserves  of  the  United  States  auction  sales  are  meant  to 
form  the  main  method  of  disposal  of  forest  products,  exceptions  being  made 
only  in  the  interest  of  local  residents. 

The  private  owner  of  woodlands  in  the  United  States,  and  his  forester, 
is  and  will  be  compelled  to  be  a  wood  manufacturer  for  many  a  year  to 
come. 

The  lumberman  need  not  be  a  forester;  but  the  forester  must  be  a 
full  fledged  and  experienced  lumberman.  Woe  to  conservative  forestry 
in  the  United  States  if  the  forester,  satisfied  to  give  theoretical  advice,  fails 
to  devote  to  lumbering  and  manufacture  the  larger  part  of  his  energy! 

§  XIII.       MOTIVE    POWER. 

Motive  power  is   supplied  by : 

A.  Actual  animal  power  said  to  be  used  in  Texas  for  running  port- 

able saw  mills. 

B.  Wind-mills,   which   furnish   an  in.sufficient   and   unreliable  power. 
C     Water-mills.     The  horse  power  of  falling  water  is: 

V  X  h  X  6-2.. 5 
ssooo 
wherein  stands  :    v  for  volume  of  discharge  in  cubic   feet   per 
minute; 

and  h  for  height  of  fall  in  feet ;    and 

wherein  62.5  represents  the  weight   of  a  cubic  foot   of  water 
and  33,000  equals  one  horsepower  per  minute. 

(41) 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

For  example,  if  cross  section  of  a  race  is  ^  2  sq.  ft.,  water  velocity 
=  660  ft.  per  minute,  height  of  water  fall  30  ft.,  then  the 
power  is : 

2  X  30  X  600  X  62.5 

=  75H.  P. 

33000 

Water  wheels  are  either  vertical,  i.  e.,  overshot,  breast  or  under- 
shot wheels,  or  horizontal  wheels,  i.  e.,  turbines. 

I.  Overshot   wheel.      Effective   power   is   60%   to   70%    of   pos- 

sible power.  The  proper  velocity  at  the  circumference 
is  5  feet  per  second  and  at  best  if  it  is  equal  to  0.55  of 
velocity  of  water. 

In  falls  of  20  feet  to  40  feet  and  over,  overshot  wheels  are 
more  effective  than  turbines. 

The  buckets,  framed  by  the  shrouding,  should  be  curved  or 
elbowed  and  not  radial.  They  should  have  a  capacity 
three  times  as  large  as  the  volume  of  water  actually 
carried,  a  depth  of  10  inches  to  12  inches  and  a  distance 
apart,  from  center  to  center,  of  12  inches. 

Ventilated  buckets,  having  holes  in  the  bottom  and  allowing 
air  to  escape,  are  said  to  have  a  better  effect. 

It  is  difficult  to  transform  the  slow  speed  of  an  overshot 
into  the  rapid  speed  required  for  a  circular  saw.  Trans- 
formation is  either  by  countershaft  or  by  cog  wheel. 

II.  The   breast   wheel    has   an   effective  power  of   from  45%   to 

65%,   is   best   applied   to   falls   of   from    5   feet   to   15    feet 
and  to  a  discharge  of  from  5  to  80  cubic  feet  per  second. 
While   in    the  overshot   the   water  works  by   weight   only, 
it   works  in  the  breast   wheel  largely  by  impact. 
The     velocity     of     wheel     should     be     such     as     to    fill     the 
buckets  to  0.5  or  0.6  of  their  volume.    The  buckets  here 
are  usually  called  blades  and  must  be  ventilated, 
'i'he   wheel   runs  in  a  curb  or  mantle,   formed   by  the   inclined 
and  cased  end  of  the  sluiceway. 
The  distance  of  the  blades,  from  center  to  center,  should  equal 
the  depth  of  the  shrouding,  both  being  from  10  inches 
to  15  inches.     The  clearance  between  the  curb  and  the 
shrouding  must  be  at  least  half  an  inch. 
"High  breast"   wheels  are   semiovershot  and  "low   breast" 
wheels  are  semiundershot  wheels. 
The   "flutter"   wheel   is  a   low   breast   wheel   of   small   diameter 
and  high   speed.     It   is   largely   used   in  western   North 
Carolina   for   saw-mill  purposes   where  water   is  plenti- 
ful and  fall  alx)ut  12  feet. 

III.  Undershot  or  current  wheels  have  an  efficiency  of  from 
27%  to  45%  only  and  are  usually  kept  anchored  in  rapid 
streams,  so  as  to  be  independent  of  water  gauge.  No-. 
buckets,   but   hmg  blades  instead. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  45 

The    diameter    of    the    wheel    is    from    13    feet   to    16^    feet; 
usually  12  blades,  the  depth  of  which  is  3  feet  to  4  feet. 
The  blades  should  be  completely  submerged  when  pass- 
ing underneath   the  axle. 
IV.     Turbines   have   an  efficiency  of  60%   to  80%.     The   water 
does  not   work  by  weight,  but  by  impact,  pressure,  reac- 
tion and   suction. 
The  speed  is  much  higher  than  in  vertical  wheels  and  hence 

is  well  adapted  for  circular  saw  mills. 
A  turbine,  however,  is  badly  affected  by  variations  of  water 
supply  and  suffers  from  debris  and  sand  and  ice.  The 
effect  of  the  water  is  greatest  when  the  turbine  is 
entirely  under  water,  the  flow  of  water  filling  the  curved 
channel  completely. 
Turbines   are  : 

(a)  Outward    flow    turbines,    water    fed    from   near 

the  center. 

(b)  Downward  flow  turbines,  water  fed  and  press- 

ing from  above. 

(c)  Inward  flow  turbines,  water  fed  from  the  perim- 

eter. 

(d)  Reaction   turbines,  working  after  the  principle 

of  a  lawn  sprinkler. 

(e)  Impulse    turbines,    principle    of    flutter    wheels. 

Modern    turbines    are    worked    both    by    im- 
pact  and   reaction   and,    if   possible,   by  suc- 
tion. 
A    9-inch    turbine,    furnishing    14   horsepower, 
costs    $250.    plus    $100     for     setting     it     in 
masonry. 
The  advantages  of   water   mills   are :   no   fuel,   no   fireman,   no 
engineer,    no    explosion,    less    insurance,    possibility    of 
using  dust  and  slabs  for  stable  bedding,  laths  etc. 
Disadvantages    are :    usually    small    power,    small    speed    and 
small    capacity.      Power    less    controllable,   less    reliable 
than   steam   power   and   not   portable. 
Small  capacity  does  not  justify  a  large  outlay   for  good  saw- 
mill machinery. 
Steam  mills. 

For  circular  saws,  the  nmnber  of  horsepower  required  is 
about  =  1/3  the  diameter  of  the  saw.  For  example,  a  48- 
inch  circular  saw  requires  16  horsepower.  Ten  horsepower 
are  said  to  manufacture  5,000  b.  feet  daily  in  circular  saw- 
mills, and  30  horsepower  will  cut  30,000  b.  feet  daily.  Every 
additional  horsepower  should  increase  the  capacity  by  1,000 
b.  feet. 
In  large  mills  each  horsepower  ought  to  manufacture  1,000  b. 
feet;    in  small  mills  only  500  b.  feet. 


I-ORllST    fTILIZATION 

Boilers  in  common   use  are  design.ited  as : 
I.     Internally  fired   boilers,    when  firebox   and   waterbox   are 
comprised  by  one  and  the  same  steel   shell ;  so  all  port- 
able boilers  and  all  locomotive  boilers. 

(a)  Cornish  boiler:   large  flues  below  and  return  flue 

above  water  through  entire  length  of  boiler. 

(b)  Lancachire  boiler:  divided  flue  below  and  divided 

flue  above  water  through  entire  length  of  boiler, 
so  as  to  even  the  draft  when  firing,  and  so 
as  to  strengthen  the  broad  heating  surface. 

(c)  Galloway  boiler:  like  Cornish  but  V-shaped  tubes 

beset  the  boiler  proper,  thus  increasing  the  heat- 
ing   surface    and    strengthening   the   flue. 

(d)  Locomotive     boiler:     firebox     surrounded     by     a 

waterleg    on    all    sides,    excepting    at    the    grate 

below.     A  bank  of  small  tubes  carries  gases  to 

an    "extension"    or    "smoke    box"    in    front    of 

smoke  stack. 

II.     Externally     fired     boilers:     masonry     firebox     underneath 

boiler   which  is  traversed   by  a  large  number  of  tubes. 

.Gases  pass  first  to  combustion  chamber  at  rear  end  and 

then  through  tubes  back  to  front. 

To  II  belongs  the  water  tube  boiler,  with  inclined  tubes, 
a  horizontal  top   vessel  and  vertical  tail  tubes,  cre- 
ating a  continuous  circuit  of  water, 
(a)      Pointers   about   boilers. 

1.  Twelve  square  feet  of  heating  surface  of 

boiler  furnish  one  horsepower. 

2.  Each    nominal   horsepower   requires   one 

cubic  foot  or  yYi  gallons  of  water 
per  hour. 

3.  Mud   drum  at   base  of  boiler   to   receive 

impurities  deposited  by  water.  Where 
no  mud  drum  exists,  boiler  should 
be  blown  oft'  weekly  through  a  bot- 
tom valve  (mud  cock). 

4.  Steam  and  water  capacity  must  be  suf- 

ficient to  prevent  any  fluctuation  in 
pressure  or  water  level. 
5.  A  large  water  surface  (horizontal  ver- 
sus upright  boilers)  prevents  steam 
from  bearing  water  particles  along. 
Usefulness  of  dome  is  doubtful  as  a 
means  to  secure  the  return  of  watery 
particles  to  the  boiler. 
6.  Water  should  occupy  three-quarters  of 
boiler   space. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  45 

Water  space  should  be  divided  into  sec- 
tions, an  arrangement  improving  the 
circulation  of  water  and  reducing  the 
severity   of  any   explosion. 

7.  Modern     boilers     are     tubular     boilers, 

which  have  the  largest  heating  sur- 
face. Diameter  of  tubes  is  measured 
outside,    including   metal. 

8.  Combustion    chamber    should    allow    01 

full  combustion  of  fuel  and  gases. 
Draft  area  should  be  one-eighth  of 
grate  area.  Return  flues  pass  the  gases 
to  the  entrance  of  the  combustion 
chamber. 
Heating  surface  should  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  at  right  angles  to  the  current 
of  escaping  gases. 

9.  Very   best   water   gauges,    safety   valves,  ^ 

injectors  and  steam  gauge?  are  pre- 
requisites. All  boiler  fixtures  should 
be  readily  accessible. 

10.  Safety  valves  must  be  tried  once  daily. 

The  water  level  should  be  controlled 
by  gauge  cocks,  glass  gauges  alone 
being  unreliable. 

11.  Cold   water   should   not   be    fed   directly 

into  boiler  and  should  never  come  in 
direct  contact  with  the  boiler  metal. 
Steam  injectors  will  not  lift  hot  water 
as  well  as  cold  water. 

12.  Steam  pressure  gauge  must  stand  at  zero 

when  pressure  is  off. 

13.  In  case  of  low  water  and  danger  of  ex- 

plosion, cover  fire  with  wet  earth. 

14.  If  fire   is    fed   from   mill    refuse,   steady 

heat  can  be  retained  only  with  boilers 
of  large   water  capacity.     The   larger 
the  boiler    the  greater  the  fuel   econ- 
omy, 
(b)     Pointers    about    engines. 

I.     Horsepower  of  engines  is: 

Sectional  area  of  piston  in  square  inches 
times  pressure  times  velocity  in  feet 
over    550. 

Deduct   10%   to  20%   for   friction. 

Pressure  on  the  piston  is  not  much 
over  one-half  of  pressure  in  the  boiler 
(60%). 


46  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

2.  Interdependence    between    size   of    cylin- 

der and  horsepower  actually  devel- 
oped is  approximately: 

Diameter,    inches    1  81  9|10|12|12jl2|14]16 

LeiiRth.    inches    115  15  15  15|20  24124  3u 

Horsepower     |l2|l5|20|25|30l35|50|S5 

These  figures  hold  good  for  single  cylin- 
der engines  and  are  much  lower  than 
the  usual  catalogue  figures.  A  new 
engine  develops  more  power  than  an 
old  one. 

3.  The   flywheel   should   weigh  600  pounds 

for  every  inch  of  cylinder  diameter. 

4.  Double  cylinders  are  more  effective  than 

single  cylinders,  especially  if  not 
hitched  tandem  fashion,  which  ar- 
rangement, h&wever,  allows  of  using 
one    piston    rod. 

5.  Center  crank  engines  are  preferable  for 

small  portable  saw-mills,  since  they 
allow  of  exchange  of  flywheel  and 
main   driving   pulley. 

6.  Machines    cannot  get    along   any   better, 

w^ithout  care,  than  horses.  Repair 
and  watch  the  smallest  defects.  Have 
the  firmest  possible  foundations. 
Saw-mill  engines  are  put  to  the  sever- 
est possible  tests  owing  to  frequent 
and  rapid  change  of  strain. 

§  XIV.       TR.\NSMISSION    OF    POWER. 

A.     Belts. 

Belts    in    woodworking   establishments   are   always   dry  and   dusty 
and  are  kept  at  a  high  and  often  irregular  rate  of  speed.     Dust 
materially  decreases  the  transmitting  power  of  belts. 
The  heavier  the  belt  the  more  powerful ;  use  light  belt  on  small 
pulleys,   however,   for  high  speeds. 
I.     Pointers  about  belts  . 

(a)  Belt  tighteners  are  required  where  a  belt  itself  is 

not  heavy  and  not   long  enough  to  cause  suffi- 
cient sag. 

(b)  The   sag   should    always   be   on  top   and    not    on 

the  bottom. 

(c)  The  angle  of  belt  against  the  horizon  should  not 

exceed  45°. 

(d)  Placing   one   pulley   above   another   requires   tight 

belt,    which   causes   heating  in   the  bearings   and 
destruction  to  the  belt. 


I'OREST    UTILIZATION  47 

(e)  Belts  should  run  off  a  shaft  in  opposite  directions 

to  relieve  one  sided  friction  of  shaft  in  hearings. 

(f)  The  pulley  nuist   Ijc  wider  than   the  helt. 

(g)  The    larger    the    pulley    the    greater    the    tractive 

power  of  the  belt, 
(h)      Be   sure   that   the   belt   docs   not   rub   against   any 

beam  or  other  solid  object, 
(i)     Long  belts  have  greater  adhesion  than  short  belts 

because  they  have  more  weight, 
(j)     Belt  dressing,   to  prevent   slipping  off   of  belt,   is 

objectionable,  because  it   gathers  dust  and  dirt, 

except  perhaps  linseed  oil  used  on  rubber  belts. 
(k)     Belts  will  slip  if: 

1.  The  pulleys  do  not  run  in  one  and  the  same 

plane. 

2.  The    shaftings    are   not   parallel. 

3.  The  pulley  is  not  as  wide  as  the  belt. 

4.  The  belt  ends  are  improperly  joined. 

5.  The  speed  is  too  high  for  the  weight  of  the 

belt. 
Kinds    of   belts  : 

(a)  Leather  belts. 

Leather  belts  are  either  single  or  double.  They 
come  in  rolls  of  from  200  feet  to  300  feet,  are 
run  with  the  grain  side  in  and  are  preferably 
joined  with  studs — not  by  leather  laces  requiring 
holes;  belt  cement  is  now  largely  used,  laps 
being  joined  to  a  fine  edge. 

Leather  belts  must  be  very  well  protected  from 
moisture,  grease,  lubricating  oil  etc. 

Transmitting  power  of  a  single  belt  is  only  70% 
of  that  of  a  double  belt. 

The  price  of  a  7-inch  single  belt  per  running 
foot  is  $f.     For  double  belt  $2. 

(b)  Rubber  belts. 

Rubber  belts  withstand  moisture  better  than 
leather  belts.  They  are  cut  from  %  inch  to  34 
inch  shorter  per  foot  than  the  circuit  on  which 
they  run  and  are  run  with  seam  side  out. 

They  are  sold  as  2,  4,  6  or  8  ply  rubl>er  belt,  the 
4  ply  being  equivalent  to  single  leather  belting 
and  the  6-ply  to  double  leather  belting. 

The  price  of  4-pIy  7-inch  rubber  belting  is  70c 
per   running  foot;    of  6-ply,  $1. 

The  ends  are  joined  either  by  belt  cement  or  by 
lace  leather.  The  laps  are  strengthened  by  a 
strip  of  leather  on  the  outside. 

Never  use  metal  studs  in  rubber  belts. 


48  J-ORJiSl     UilLI/ATION 

B.     Pulleys. 

Pulleys  are  made  cither  of  iron  or  of  wood. 

The  adhesion  of  leather   to  wood  is   much  greater  than   to  iron^ 

hence   greater  transmitting  power   of   wooden   pulleys. 
Split   wood   pulleys  are   preferable.     The   best   make   is   the  Dodge 
split    wood    pulley,    costing    for   24-inch     diameter     and     lo-inch 
face  $11.20. 
The  so  called  clutch  pulleys  consist  of  two  wheels  wedged  one  into 
the  other,   the  inner  one  loose,  the  outer  one  fastened   onto  the 
shaft. 
Iron   pulleys  must   be   absolutely   symmetrical 
Pulleys  for  stationary  belts  are  slightly  crowning,   while  those   for 

shifting  belts  are  straight  faced. 
Pulleys   for  heavy   work    should  be  placed   close    to    bearings   of 
shaft.    The  main  driving  pulley  must  stand  between  bearings  not 
over  four  or  five  feet  apart. 
The  ratio  between  the  speed  of  driving  and  driven  pulley  is  inverse 

to  the  ratio  of  the  diameter. 
Remarks  relative  to  starting  and  stopping  machinery: 

I.  Machinery  is  started  by  belt  tighteners,  the  belt  running 
over  flanged  pulleys,  by  clutch  pulley,  by  tight  and  loose 
pulley  with  shifting  belt,  by  eccentric  boxes  and  by  fric- 
tion pulleys. 
IT.  A  rotation  is  reversed  by  crossed  belts  (belt  turning  180") 
or  by  paper  friction  pulleys  or  by  forcing  the  belt 
against  a  driven  pulley  remaining  outside  the  belt  cir- 
cuit. 

III.     A  rotation  is  turned  at  right  angles  by  giving  the  belt  a 
quarter-twist  (90°;,  or  by  gear  and  pinion  or  by  beveled 
friction. 
C.     Shafting. 

Cold    rolled    shafting    is    said    to    have    a    torsional    strength   30% 

greater  than  that  of  hot  rolled  shafting. 
The  usual  diameters  of  shafting  in  saw  mills  are  from  ii/,  inch  to 
3K'  inch.     The  proper  speed  for  shafting  is  300  to  400  revolutions 

and   its  transmitting  power  is  given  as ^LJ".    —  horsepower 

80 
Herein  stands:    D  for  diameter  of  .shafting; 

R  for  revolutions  of  shafting  per  minute; 
80  for  a  constant  factor. 
Couplings  by  which  the  sections  of  shafting  are  joined  should  be 
close  to  a  hanger  or  a  support.    They  should  be  easily  detachable 
without  driving  keys. 

Shafting  comes  in  sections  usually   12.  14.   16  or  18  feet  long. 
The  section  closest  to  the  main  driven  pulley  is  often  stronger  than 
the  other  sections. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  49 

The  bearings  should  be  long,  say  four  times  as  long  as  the  shafting 

is  thick,  and  should  have  self-lubricating  devices. 
Hangers  for  3-inch  shafting  and  of  3-ft.  drop  cost  about  $20. 
Bearing-boxes  are  lined  with  an  anti-friction  alloy  melting  easily 
and  offering  little  friction  even  under  severe  pressure.     A  space 
of  %  inch  to  1-2  inch  is  left  between  the  cast-iron  box  and  the 
shafting  (journal)  to  be  supported.     The  box  is  held  in  a  "bab- 
bitting jig"  while  the  melted  alloy  is  poured  from  a  ladle.    Bab- 
bitt metal  (invented  by  Isaac  Babbitt)  consists  of  about  96  parts 
tin,  4  parts  copper  and  8  parts  antimony. 
Rules  for  shafting  are : 

I.     Be  sure  that  line  of  shafting  is  parallel  to  axis  of  driver. 
II.     Place  all  heavy  work  on  the  main  shaft  and  close  to  the 
main  driver. 
III.     Oil  freely  and  watch  bearings  constantly.     Oil  after   stop- 
ping work,  while  bearings  are  still  warm. 
IV.     Drive  only  minor  machinery  from  gear  wheels. 
Price  of  shafting  is  about  sc  or  6c  per  lb. 

§  XV.      TECHXICAL    USE    M.\DE    OF    THE    TREES.    BY    SPECIES. 

Hardwoods. 

Cucumber  tree :  Ox  yokes ;  pump  logs ;  water  troughs ;  cabinet 
making;  ceiling:  flooring;  invariably  mixed  with  and  substituted 
for  j'ellow  poplar. 

Tulip  tree  or  yellow  poplar:  Panels:  flooring:  molding;  clap- 
boarding  ;  sheathing ;  shingles  ;  siding  on  railroad  cars ;  interior 
finish  of  Pullman  cars;  coffins;  cheap  furniture;  bodies  of  car- 
riages and  sleighs;  sides  and  bottoms  of  farm  wagon  beds;  wood- 
enware;  bungs;  slack  barrels  and  tobacco  hogsheads  (staves  and 
heading)  ;  backing  for  pianos  and  for  veneers;  boxes,  especially 
biscuit  boxes  and  cigar  boxes;  scroll  saw  work:  wood  carving; 
wood  burning ;    matches ;    excelsior ;    paper  pulp. 

Linden  or  basswood :  Mirror  and  picture  backs ;  drawers  and 
backs  of  furniture;  molding;  woodenware;  panels  and  bodies 
of  carriages ;  ceiling ;  wooden  shoes  abroad :  inner  soles  of 
shoes;  cooperage  heading;  slack  barrel  staves;  butter  chums; 
laths;  boxes;  grape  baskets;  excelsior;  parts  of  pianos  and 
organs ;  fine  carving ;  papier  mache ;  paper  pulp.  The  flowers 
are  used  for  tea ;    the  inner  bark  for  coarse  cordage  and  matting. 

Holly  or  ilex  :  Mallets  ;  edging  and  engraving  blocks ;  fine  cabinet 
work;  painting  on  wood;  tool  handles;  mathematical  instru- 
ments. 

Buckeye :  Artificial  limbs :  woodenware ;  paper  pulp ;  wooden 
hats;    fine  wood  carving. 

Maple   (western):    Furniture;  axe  handles:  frames  of  snowshoes. 

Maple  (eastern):  Furniture  (curly  and  birdseye)  ;  flooring; 
sugar  barrels;  mantels;  runners  of  sleighs;  peavy  handles; 
ox  j'okes ;  axe  handles ;   sides  and  bridges  of  violins :   wooden- 


so  FOREST    UTIUZ.ITIOX 

ware ;  wooden  shovels ;  shoe  pegs  and  lasts ;  gun  stocks ;  sad- 
dle trees;  teeth  of  wooden  gear  \vheels ;  piano  keys  and  ham- 
mers; wood  split  pulleys;  framework  of  machinery;  ship  build- 
ing ;  maple  sugar ;  surveyor's  implements ;  plane  stocks ;  wooden 
types:  faucets;  clothespins;  charcoal;  acetate  of  lime;  wood 
alcolujl. 

Sumacli :  Tanning;  dyeing  and  dressing  skins;  Japanese  lacquer 
work. 

Black  locust :  Police  clubs  ;  fence  posts ;  insulator  pins ;  construc- 
tion work  (bridge);  turnery;  wheelwright  work;  tree  nails 
(pins);  ship  building  (ribs);  hubs  of  wheels;  house  founda- 
tion. 

Mesquit:  Fence  posts  and  rails;  used  extensively  for  fuel  (de- 
structive to  boilers). 

Black  cherry:  Fine  furniture;  cabinetwork;  interior  finish ;  tool 
handles ;    surveyor's  implements. 

Crabapple :     Pipes,    mallets ;   wooden   measure   rules ;   tool   handles. 

Wilch  hazel :    Pond's  extract. 

Dogwood:  Tool  handles;  spools;  bobbins;  shuttles;  mauls; 
wheel  hubs  ;    machinery  bearings  ;    engraving  blocks. 

Black   gum:    Heavy    (wagon)    hubs;    rollers    in    glass    factories; 

.  mangles ;  ox  yokes ;  stock  of  sledge  hammers  in  steam  forges ; 
veneers  for  berry  baskets  and  butter  dishes;  slack  barrels;  in 
cheap  furniture,  for  backing  and  drawers ;    barn  flooring. 

Tupelo  gum:  Chemical  paper  fibre;  slack  barrel  staves  (rotary 
veneer  cut);  wooden  shoes  and  woodenwarc ;  the  corky  root  is 
used  under  the  name  of  corkwood  for  bicycle  handles  and  float- 
ers of  fishing  nets. 

Sweet  gum :  Known  iit  Europe  as  satin  walnut  and  used  for  fine 
furniture  and  cabinet  work,  in  America  for  cheap  furniture; 
cheap  l)uilding  lumber;  flooring;  plug  tobacco  and  cigar  boxes; 
wagon  beds;  slack  barrels;  strawberry  boxes;  veneer  cut 
dishes ;    coiled  hoops ;    street  paving. 

Sourwood:    Tool  handles;    machinery  bearings;    sled  runners. 

Rhododendron :  Bruyere  pipes ;  tool  handles ;  turnery ;  toys ; 
rustic   furniture. 

Persimmon:  Bobbins;  spools;  shuttles:  tools;  golf  club  heads ; 
plane  stocks;  shoe  lasts;  wood  engraving.  The  black  heart  is 
cut  into  veneers  and  used  for  ebony. 

White  ash :  Wagons  and  carriages  (poles,  shafts,  frames)  ;  in- 
terior woodwork;  inner  parts  of  furniture;  mantelpieces;  s))ort- 
ing  goods  (bats  etc.),  oars  and  gymnastic  bars;  lances;  agri- 
cultural implements;  tennis  racquets;  snowshoes;  skis:  wooden 
pulleys;  barrel  hoops;  pork  barrel  staves;  baskets;  dairy  pack- 
ings (firkins,  tubs  etc.):  tool  handles. 

Catalpa:    Fence  posts;    railroad  ties;   telegraph  poles. 

Sassafras:  Light  skiffs;  fence  posts:  rails;  cooperage:  insect- 
proof  boxes;    ox  yokes.     Roots  used  to  make  sarsaparilla. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 


SI 


California  laurel:    Ship  building;    cabinet  work  and  interior  finish. 

Elms:    Wheel  stock,   especially  hubs;    fence  posts;    ribs  of  small 

boats;    top  spans  in  covered  railroad  cars;    railroad  ties;   tongues 

for  sleighs  and  sleigh  runners ;    saddle  trees ;    flooring ;    exported 

for  inner  lining  of  boats ;    butcher  blocks  and  churns    (butter)  ; 

cheese  boxes;    imitation  oak   furniture;    sugar  and  flour  barrel 

staves ;     patent   coiled   hoops    for    slack   cooperage ;     agricultural 

implements;    bicycle  rims;    basket  making;    gun  stocks;    frame 

timber  of  piano  cases;    wheelbarrows;  hockey  sticks. 

Hackberry:    Fencing;    occasionally  for  cheap  furniture;    hames. 

Mulberry:    Fencing;    cooperage;    in  the  South  for  boat  building; 

axe  handles. 
Osage   orange :     Fencing ;     paving     blocks ;     railroad    ties ;     wheel 

stock;    toothpicks;    fine  mallets. 
Sycamore:    Furniture;    plug  tobacco  boxes;    butchers'  blocks;    in- 
terior finish;    beehives    (hollow   log  sections);    butter  and  lard 
trays;    wooden  bowls. 
Walnuts:    Interior  finish;     furniture;    gun   stocks;    tool   handles; 

cabinet  work;  boat  building. 
Hickories :  Axe  handles ;  wagon  stock,  especially  whiffletrees ; 
neck  yokes;  spokes;  tongues;  felloes;  skeins;  buckboards; 
rustic  furniture;  barrel  hoops;  screws;  mallets;  parts  of  tex- 
tile machinery;  farm  implements;  wooden  rails  (top)  ;  baskets; 
bows  of  ox  yokes;  boat  building;  hickory  bark  for  flavoring 
sugar  (to  imitate  maple  syrup). 
Oaks  (white  and  burr)  :  Furniture ;  wagon  and  carriage  stock, 
especially  spokes,  felloes,  hubs,  tongues,  hounds,  bolsters,  sand- 
boards,  reaches,  brake  bars,  axletrees,  whiffletrees  ;  railroad  ties  ; 
freight  car  building  (framework);  ship  building;  house  build- 
ing and  interior  finish;  shingles;  agricultural  implements;  bridge 
building;  mining  timber;  wine,  beer  and  whisky  barrels:  par- 
quet flooring;  staircases;  split  wood  baskets;  hogshead  and  barrel 
hoops. 
Post  oak:    Fencing;    railroad  ties ;    construction;    staves:    carriage 

and  wagon  work ;    farm  implements. 
Basket   oak:     Baskets;    cooperage;     wheel    stock;    fencing;    agri- 
cultural implements;    construction. 
Chestnut  oak:    Bark  used  for  tanning;    fencing;    bridges;    railroad 
ties;    substitute  for  white  oak,  but  objectionable  in  tight  cooper- 
age. 
Live  oak:    Ship  building;    furniture. 
Red   oak:     Shingles;     furniture;    interior   finish;     tight  and   slack 

cooperage. 
Texas  oak:  Same  as  red  oak.     Said  to  check  less  than  red  oak. 
Black   oak :     Plow   beams ;     furniture ;     lumber :    bark   for  tanning 

and  quercitrin. 
Tanbark  oak:    In  California  bark  used  for  tanning. 
Chestnut:     Tannin    extract;     coffins;     furniture;     interior    finish; 
shingles;  fencing;  railroad  ties;  sheathing;  Jacob  staff  for  com- 


52  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

passes ;    bridge  building  (trestles)  ;  telephone  poles ;    backing  of 
piano  veneers;    slack  barrel  hoops  and  sawn  staves. 

Beech :  Wood  alcohol ;  wood  ashes ;  charcoal ;  shoe  lasts  ;  plane 
stocks ;  clothespins ;  handles ;  wooden  bowls ;  horse  collars 
(hames)  ;  parquet  strips ;  flooring;  street  paving;  railroad  ties; 
sugar  barrels.  Beech  furniture  made  out  of  veneers  of  three  or 
four  thicknesses,  or  bent  after  steaming. 

Hop  hornbeam:  Posts;  levers;  tool  handles ;  wagon  brake ;  shoes; 
wedges. 

Hornbeam:  Used  for  same  purposes  as  above,  and  teeth  of  gear 
wheels. 

White  birch :  Toothpicks ;  shoe  pegs  and  lasts ;  wood  pulp ; 
spools;  clothespins;  screws;  flooring;  veneers;  furniture;  bob- 
bins, and  spindles ;    wooden   skewers ;    hand-made  barrel   hoops. 

Gray  birch  (yellow)  :  Furniture  (usually  mahogany  finish)  ;  match 
boxes ;  wheel  hubs ;  tool  handles  ;  buttons ;  brush  backs  ;  shoe 
pegs;  clothespins;  sugar  barrels;  dry  distillation  for  wood 
vinegar ;  wood  alcohol ;  charcoal  etc. 

River  birch :    Furniture ;    woodenware ;  wooden  shoes ;    ox  yokes. 

Cherry  birch  (sweet  birch):  Imitation  cherry  furniture;  ship 
building;    bark  distilled  for  oil  of  wintergreen. 

Oregon  alder :  Furniture ;  cigar  boxes ;  mining  props  and  water 
conduits ;    charcoal  in  gunpowder. 

Black  willows:  Osier  culture  (imported  species);  pollarded  for 
fascines;  the  Missouri  species  for  fence  posts  after  thorough 
seasoning;  bats  for  baseball;  a  drug,  salicylic  acid,  made  from 
the  bark ;    charcoal   for  smokeless  powder. 

Cottonwoods:    Boxes;  wood  pulp  and  fibre;  slack  barrels;  wooden- 
ware;    flooring;    excelsior;    backing  for  veneers  in  organs  and 
pianos;     matches;     cheap     building    lumber;     cheap     furniture; 
wagon  beds;    turnery;  woodenware;    fence  boards. 
B.     Conifers. 

Incense  cedar :    Water  flumes;    fencing;    furniture;    interior  finish ; 

laths  and  shingles. 
White  cedar   (northern)  :    Posts;    fencing;     telegraph  poles ;    rail- 
road  ties;     tanks   and    buckets;     shingles;     street    paving;     boat 

lining. 
White  cedar   (Southern):    Woodenware;  tanks;  buckets;  barrels; 

telegraph  poles  and  fence  posts;    shingles;    railroad  ties;    boats; 

lampblack. 
Red  cedar   (Pacific):    Canoes  of  Indians ;    interior  finish ;    fencing; 

shingles;    cooperage;    tanks;    buckets. 
Port  Orford  cedar  (Lawson's  cypress)  :    Lumber;    inside  finishing; 

flooring;     railroad   ties;     fence   posts;     matches;     ship   building. 

The  rosin  is  a  powerful  insecticide. 
Western  juniper:    Fences. 
Red  cedar  (of  the  East)  :    Tanks,  posts,  buckets;   telephone  poles; 

cigar  boxes;    chests;   pencils;    interior  finish. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  53 

Bald   cypress:     Tanks;    shingles;    doors;    house   building;    interior 
finish  ;    sashes ;    blinds ;    molasses  barrels ;    railroad  ties ;    posts ; 
car  siding;    flooring  and  covering;    wharf  piles. 
Big  tree:    Lumber;    fencing;    shingles;    construction;    water  con- 
duits. 
Redwood :     House     building     and     finishing ;     shingles ;     fencing ; 
telegraph    poles;     vineyard     stakes;     railroad    ties:     car    lining; 
tanks ;    coffins. 
Yew.     In  Oregon  for  bows  and  fishing  rods. 

White  pine :  House  building  and  finishing ;  boxes  and  crates ; 
sash,  doors  and  blinds ;  shingles :  backing  of  fine  veneers ;  ex- 
celsior; matches;  laths;  woodenwarc :  slack  barrels ;  framing 
of  machinery;  furniture;  patterns  for  casting  metals;  ship 
masts ;  baled  shavings  for  filtering  gas,  bedding  for  horses,  pack- 
ing for  crockery. 
Sugar  pine:    Same  uses  as  white  pine;    cooperage;    shakes   (large 

board  shingles). 
Lodge-pole  pine:    Cheap   lumber;    mining   timbers;     railroad  ties; 

used  where  other  timber  is  not  available. 
Loblolly  pine:    Common  lumber  and  cheap  veneers,  usually  mixed 
with  "echinata"  ;    shingles ;    house  building  purposes  altogether ; 
mining  timber ;  boxes ;  rice  and  potato  barrels ;  laths. 
Shortleaf  pine    (echinata):    Same  use  as  above;    boxes  for  naval 

stores. 
Table  mountain  pine :    In  Pennsylvania  used  for  charcoal. 
Longleaf    and    Cuban    pine:     House    building;     dimension    stuff; 
shingles;    tanks;    'flooring;     interior   finish;    railroad   ties;     rail- 
road bridges  ;    car  sills  and  framework  of  cars  ;    furniture  ;    sash, 
doors    and   blinds;     framework   of    machinery;     mining   timber; 
ship  building;    masts;    wagon  tongues  and  beds;    naval   stores. 
Scrub  pine  (Virginiana)  :    In  Kentucky,  for  lumber. 
Jeffrey's  pine:    Coarse  lumber;    mining  timber. 
Bull    pine    (ponderosa)  :     Lumber;     railroad    ties;     mine    props; 

shingles  ;    boxes  :    slack  barrels. 
Jack  pine    (divaricata)  :    Ties  and  piling;    cheap  lumber;    boxes; 

laths. 
Norway   pine:     Lumber    generally;     ship    building;     construction; 
flooring;  masts;  piles  of  wharves:  covering;  lining;  siding;  floor- 
ing and  sills  of  railroad  cars;    railroad  ties. 
Eastern    spruce:     Chemical    fibre    and    paper    pulp    (down    to    5"- 
diameter)  ;     matches:    excelsior;    construction;    posts;    railroad 
ties:    fresh-water  ship  building;    clapboards:    flooring;   ceiling; 
stepladders;    sounding   boards    (from   butt  logs);     oars;   spars; 
wharf   piles;    telegraph    poles;    toys;    wood   type;    butter    buck- 
ets;   slack  cooperage;    wooden  thread   (for  mattings)  ;    chewing 
gum  :  vanillin.    In  Europe  spruce  bark  is  used  for  tanning. 
Engelmann's  spruce:    Used  in  Colorado  for  common  lumber. 
Tideland   spruce:    Lumber;    construction;    outer   finish;     wooden- 
ware  ;  paper  pulp. 


54  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

Hemlock:    Coarse  rat-proof  lumber;    dimension  stuff  and  construc- 
tion;   shingles;     railroad  ties;     fencing;    paper  pulp;    bark  for 

tanning. 
Douglas   fir:    All    building   lumber;     construction;     railroad   ties; 

trestle  bridges;    piles;    car  sills;    ship  building;  masts;    mining 

timber ;  bark  sometimes  used  for  tanning. 
Firs :    Paper  pulp.    In  the  East  for  corduroying.     In  the  West  for 

local   lumber;    packing  cases;    cooperage;    interior  finish;  mine 

props. 
Tamarack  (Eastern)  :    Fence  posts;  telegraph  poles;    ship's  knees; 

railroad  ties. 
Tamarack    (Western):     Posts;     railroad    ties;     car   construction; 

dimension  stuff. 
C.     Tropical  and  subtropical  timber. 

Yucca :    Paper  pulp  and  fibre  for  ropes ;    pincushions. 
Eucalyptus:    Street  paving;    railroad  ties;    mine  props;    piles;  ship 

building ;    wagon   making ;    orchard  paling. 
Mangrove :    Bark  very  rich  in  tannin. 
Palmetto  :    Wharf  piles ;   pincushions ;   brushes. 
Lignumvitac :     Bowling   balls;     blocks    for    pulleys;     fine    interior 

finish  and  furniture;    railroad  ties  in  Panama. 
Teak:    Ship  building  and  flooring;    railroad  cars ;    street  paving. 
West  India  cedar :    Racing  boats ;    cigar  boxes. 
Olivcwood:    Turnery;  inlaying;   furniture;  backs  of  hair  brushes; 

wood  carving.    The  fruit  yields  the  best  oil  for  table  use. 
Quebracho:    Tanning;  paving;  railroad  ties. 
Lanccwood :    Fishing  rods. 
jNIahogany :    Furniture  ;    ship  building ;  pianos  ;   fine  interior  finish. 

§  XIV.      TECHNIC-VL    QUALITIES    OF    THE    TREES. 

A.     Botanical  structure  of  the  trees. 

I.     Botanical  structure  of  hardwoods. 

The  cells  forming  the  woody  tissue  are: 

(a)  Ducts  (pores,  vessels)  formed  by  the  resorption  of  the 

partition  walls  in  a  vertically  running  string  of  cells. 
Such  ducts  are  characteristic  of  hardwoods. 

(b)  Sclerenchyma,  cells  of  heavy  walls  and   small  lumina, 

usually   forming  long  fibres. 

(c)  Parenchyma,  cells  of  thin  walls  and  large  lumina,  fre- 

quently  containing   grains  of  starch. 
Medulla  or  pith  is  found  in  the  central  column,  in  the 

primary,    secondary,    tertiary   rays   and    (rarely)    in 

medullary  spots  (birch).     The  central  pith  is: 

Heavy  in  ash,  maple,  elder,  catalpa ; 

Triangular  in  birch,  alder: 

Quinquangular  in  hornbeam. 
Broad  leaved   species  are  called  "ring  porous,"  if  the- 

spring  wood  of  the  annual   ring  contains  strikingly 


I- O REST    UTILIZATION 


55 


large  pores,  or  else  "diffuse  porous,"  if  the  ducts  are 
evenly  distributed  over  the  entire  ring.  Sapwoodl 
and  heartwood  are  merely  distinguished  by  a  differ- 
ence of  color,  caused  by  incrustations  of  pigments,, 
lignin,  tannin  etc.,  in  the  walls  of  rings  formed  a 
number  of  years  before.  The  number  of  years  elaps- 
ing before  incrustation  takes  place  is  small  in  catalpa, 
chestnut,  locust;  and  larger  in  yellow  poplar,  white 
oak,  walnut  where  it  is  about  thirty  or  forty  years 
old.  Beech,  maple,  basswood  etc.  do  not  form  any 
heartwood. 


GENERIC    STRUCTURE    OF    HARDWOODS. 


Medullary 
Bays. 


Ringpi>rou6 
always  with 
heart. 


f  Castanea 

;  Robinia 

-;  Fraxinus 

I  Hieoria 

I 


Diffuse  iKirous. 
Inner  pores 

more  numer-  Pores  absolutely  even 

ous.  always         With  heart.  Without  heart, 

with    heart. 


Rhamnus 

Rhus 

S.vringa 


Juglans 
Pyrus  malus 
Sorbus 
Sails 
Lirlodendron 


Populus 


.\luus 

I'yrus  communis 
Crataegus 
Betula 
.\psculus 


f  Dlmus 
I  Morus 
i   Ailanthas 


I    Quercus 
.;    Vitis 
(^  Rosa 


Tilia 

Acer 

Gorylus 

t'arplnus 

Ilex 

Platanus 
Kagus 


II.     Botanical  structure  of  softwoods. 


(a) 

(b) 
(c) 
(d) 

(e) 


The  tissue  of  softwoods  is  more  homogeneous  than  that 
of  hardwoods.     It  is  mainly  formed  by  tracheae. 

The  cell  walls  formed  in  early  spring  are  thinner  and 
the  lumina  formed  in  early  spring  are  larger  than  those 
formed   in    summer. 

Parenchyma  is  found  in  the  medullary  rays  and  around 
the  rosin  ducts. 

Ducts  of  the  form  found  in  hardwoods  e.xist  only  close 
to  the  central  pith  column. 

The  medullary  rays  are  very  fine  (microscopic),  usually 
only  one  cell  w^ide  and  about  a  dozen  cells  high.  The 
lowest  string  of  cells  in  the  ray  is  usually  formed  by 
tracheae    (exception — red  cedar). 

Rosin  ducts  are  not  cells  merely,  but,  unlike  the  ducts  of 
hardwoods,  hollow  tubes,  the  walls  of  which  are: 
formed  by  parenchymatic  cells.  These  ducts  are  run- 
ning horizontally  as  well  as  vertically  in  picea,  pinus, 
larix,  pseudotsuga. 

The  tissue  of  the  genera  abies,  taxus,  juniperus,  thuja, 
tsuga,  cbamaecyparis  etc.  lacks  the  ducts. 


56  FOREST    UTILIZATIOX 

(f)  Heartwood  and  sapwood  of  conifers  are  distinguished 
merely  by  a  difference  in  color,  due  to  incrustations 
of  rosin  in  the  inner  heartwood  rings.  Pinus  echinata 
has,  usually,  about  thirty  sapwood  rings.  Spruces,  firs 
and  hemlocks  have  no  heartwood.  Heartwood  is  con- 
spicuous in  the  pines,  red  and  white  cedars,  lawson 
cypress,  yew,  larches  and  douglas  fir. 
B.     Chemical  qualities  of  wood. 

I.  The  walls  of  the  tissue  are  formed  by  cellulose  (G^HcjOio) 
and  by  lignin  (CsHi^Os). 
Cellulose  transforms,  entirely  or  partially,  in  the  very  year 
in  which  the  cell  is  built,  by  incrustation  and  reduction  into 
lignin.  If  a  branch  or  a  seedling  does  not  enjoy  enough 
light  during  summer  to  allow  of  thorough  lignificatioii, 
then  that  branch  or  seedling  is  necessarily  killed  by  the 
winter  frost. 
II.  Wood  and  bark  contain  on  an  average  45  %  (weight)  of 
water.  Conifers  contain  less  water  than  broad-leafed  spe- 
cies. The  percentage  varies  irregularly  with  the  seasons 
and  with  the  precipitations. 

III.  Other  substances  found  in  the  woody  tissue  are: 

(a)  In  the  sap  and  medulla — albumen,  starch,  sugar,  oils. 

(b)  In  the  cell  walls — tannin,  rosin  and  pigments. 

IV.  The  specific  gravity  of  pure  w'ood  fibre  is  1.56. 

C     Outer  qualities,  or  qualities  discernible  by  eye,  touch  or   Fctnt. 

I.     Texture.     The  texture  is  fine  or  rough  according  to  the  ease 
with  which  parts  composing  the  tissue  can  be  distitiguished. 
The  texture  is : 

(a)  Very  fine — yew,  box,  holly,  persimmon. 

(b)  Fine — pear  tree,  hornbeam,  black  gum. 

(c)  Pretty  rough — spruce,  fir,  magnolia,  cottonwoods. 

(d)  Rough — cherry,    sycamore,   maple. 

(e)  Very  rough — oak,  elm,  locust,  beech. 

II  Color.  Color  is  an  advantage  in  the  furniture  trade 
and  a  disadvantage  in  the  manufacture  of  paper. 
The  heart  of  seasoned  wood  is  always  darker  than  the  sap- 
wood. 

Tropical  species  are  particularly  rich  in  color. 

Wood  exposed  to  air  changes  its  color  more  or  less  visibly. 
The  heart  of  yellow  poplar  changes  to  a  dark  brown.  Alder 
changes  from  white  to  red.  Ash  from  white  to  light  violet. 
Mahogany  from  brown  to  black.  Walnut  similarly. 
III.  Gloss.  Gloss  is  due  to  evenness,  number  and  size  of  medul- 
lary rays. 

Shining  species  are  maple,  ash,  elm,  beech. 

Medium  shining  are  oak,  alder,  hornbeam. 

Dull  are  peach,  pear,  conifers. 


FOREST    Ur  I  LIZ  ATI  OS  57 

Quarter  sawing  increases  the  gloss. 
IV.     Odor.     Odor  is  important  for  the  use  of  wood  in  the  package 
industry.     The  strong  odor  of  wood  is  usually  lost  in  the 
course  of  seasoning.    The  following  species  retain,  however, 
a  characteristic  odor:    Cherry,  birch,  sassafras,,  red  cedar. 
Inner  qualities,  or  qualities  discernible  by  mechanical  tests. 
I.     Specific  gravity. 

(a)  Pure  wood  fibre   forms  in  fresh  wood,  with  broad 

leafed  species  of  temperate  climates,  about  35  % 
of  the  entire  weight,  while  conifers  show  an  aver- 
age of  about  25  %. 

(b)  Air  dried  wood  still  retains  from  10  %  to  15  %  of 

water.  If  the  dry  kiln  reduces  the  percentage  of 
water  below  that  figure,  the  hygroscopicity  of  the 
wood  will  speedily  cause  it  to  return. 

(c)  Factors  influencing  specific  gravity  of  air-dried  wood 

within  the  same  species  are : 

1.  The    width    of    the    rings,    in    ring   porous 

hardwoods     and     in     conifers     forming 
heartwood. 

2.  The   incrustations    of    rosin,     tannin     and 

pigments  in  the  heart. 

3.  The  age  of  the  tree. 

4.  The  decay  of  the  fibre. 

5.  The    section   of   the   tree,    since    roots   are 

very  light,  butt  logs  heavy,  bole  fairly 
light  and  branches  fairly  heavy. 
In  the  case  of  the  diffuse  porous  hard- 
woods and  of  conifers  destitute  of  heart, 
no  rule  can  be  given  relative  to  specific 
gravity  of  inner  and  outer  layers,  of 
wide  and  narrow  rings. 

(d)  Air  dried  lumber  has.  on  an  average,  the  following 

weights : 

Weight  of 

Snecies—  Specific  gravity.    LOOO  ft.  b.m. 

Turk."    on !c,    iii.kory,    servire-bush.  over  0.75      over  4,000  lbs. 
Ash.    white    aud    red    oak,    locust, 

^Iftree""""'"""'     ''"!'..  °!""'.'    0.70-0.75     about  3.750  lbs. 

^'Sir^e?"bi""h'^^':'''^*"'.^''":     0.6M).70  about  3.400  lbs. 

Horse     chestnut,     chestnut,     tulip  ^  „  ^^  ,w. 

tree    alder,   larch,   longleaf  pine    0.55-0.60  about  3,000  lbs. 

Yellow    pine,    douglas   fir     spruce.     ^  ,.  ^  ^.  .^.  ,  -^  ,. 

fir.     willow.     Cottonwood 0.4o-0.5o  about  2.600   bs. 

White   and   sugar    pine under  0.45  about  2.200  lbs. 

(e)  Rules. 

I.  Specific  gravity  times  5.200  equals  tlie 
weight  of  1,000  feet  b.  m.  of  sawn  lum- 
ber. Reason— 1,000  superficial  feet  of 
water  one  inch  deep  weigh  5.200  lbs. 


58  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

2.  Specific  gravity  times  8,000  times  cordwood 

reducing  factor  equals  the  weight  of  a 
cord  of  wood.  Reason — 128  cubic  feet 
of  water  weigh  8,000  lbs. ;  a  cord  of  wood 
contains  from  20  %  to  85  %  of  wood,  the 
balance  being  air. 

3.  Specific  gravity  air  dry  times  5,200  times  23 

equals  the  weight  of  1,000  feet  b.  m.  in 
the  log.  Reason — a  green  log  has  about 
10  %  bark,  about  27  %  of  water,  to  be 
removed  by  drying,  and  loses  2)2>  %  for 
slabs  and  kerf  in  band  sawing.  Hence  the 
weight  in  1,000  feet  b.  m.  air  dried  and 
band  sawed  lumber  is  only  0.9  times 
0.73  times  0.67  of  the  weight  of  a  log 
scaling  1,000  feet  b.  m.  Doyle.  The 
weight  of  a  green  log  is  2.3  times  the 
weight  of  air  dried  lumber  obtainable 
from  it  by  the  band  saw\  For  broad- 
leafed  species  and  for  circular  saws  the 
figure  is  higher  than  for  conifers  and 
band  saws. 

(f)  Heavy    planks    do    not    dry   as   thoroughly   as    thin 

boards. 

(g)  Weight    determines    freight    and.  customs    charges. 

Also   adaptability     to     packages,     floatability     in 
flumes  and  rafts  and  possibility  of  loose  driving. 
Lumber  freight  rates  from  Asheville,  N.  C,  are : 
29c  per  100  !bs.  to  New  York. 
23^c  per  100  lbs.  to  Philadelphia. 
izYzC  per  100  lbs.  to  Atlanta. 
i8c  per  100  lbs.  to  Washington. 
14c  per  100  lbs.   to  Norfolk. 
Lumber  freight  rate  from  Portland,  Ore.,  to  Chi- 
cago is  about  50C  per  100  lbs. 
Steamer  rate   to   Europe   from   Norfolk   is   14c  per 

100  lbs.  of  lumber. 
The   freight  rate  on  logs  for   50  miles  is  at  least 
$5  per  carload  ;  for  100  miles  at  least  $6. 
II.     Hardness. 

By  hardness  is  understood  the  resistance  of  the  fibre  to  axe 

and  saw  worked  vertically  to  the  fibre. 
Factors  of  hardness  are: 

(a)  Density;   wide  rings  in  oak  and  narrow  rings  in  pine 

increase  the  hardness. 

(b)  Incrustation;     heartwood   is   harder   than    sapwood. 

(c)  Moisture -contents;    dry  w^ood    is,    on    the    whole, 

harder    than    green    wood.    With    some    broad- 
leafed  species  of  loose  tissue    (willows  and  cot- 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 


59 


III. 


tonwoods),  however,  moist  wood  is  tougher  and 
therefore  harder  as  well, 
(d)     Frost  increases  the  hardness. 


Very  BOft. 
White    pine 
Sugar   pln«s 
Sequoia 
Paulownla 
Willow 


Cleavability  or  fissibility. 

Cleavability  is  the  resistance  of  fibre  to  axe,  saw  and  wedge, 
worked  lengthwise  in  the  direction  of  the  fibre.  Radial 
cleavage  is  usually  by  50  %  to  100  %  easier  than  tangential 
cleavage   (except  in  black  gum). 

Factors  of  cleavability  are  : 


SCHEDULE   OF 

HARDNESS. 

Hard. 

Medium. 

Soft. 

Hickory 

Ash 

Chestnut 

Dogwood 

Oak 

Tulip  tree 

Sugar    maple 

Elm 

Sweet    gum 

Sycamore 

Beech 

D^iuglas    flr 

Xiocust 

Cherry 

Fir 

Hornbeam 

Mulberry 

Yellow    pine 

Persimmon 

Birch 

Larch 

Sour    gum 

Linden 

Lougleaf   pine 

Horse   chestnut 
Hemlock 
Cot  tonwoods 
Spruce 

(a) 
(b) 
(c) 
(d) 
(e) 

(0 
(g) 


A   straight,   long,   elastic  fibre. 

Heavy  and  high   medullaiy  rays. 

Straightness  of  growth. 

Branchiness. 

Moisture  (very  green  and  very  dry  wood  splits 
best). 

Frost  (reduces  the  cleavability). 

Hardness  and  softness  (extremely  hard  and  ex- 
tremely soft  wood  splits  badly.  This  rule  holds 
good  only  in  hardwoods). 

SCHEDULE  OF  CLEAVABILITY. 


Hard    to    split.  . 

Medium    to    split. 

Easy    to    spUt. 

Black    gum 

Oak 

Chestnut 

Elm 

Ash 

Pines 

Sycamore 

Larch 

Spruce 

Dogwood 
Beech 

Cottonwood 
Linden 

Fir 
Cedar 

Holly 

Yellow     pcplar 

Maple 

Hickory 

Birch 

Hornbeaqj 

IV.'     Pliability. 

Under  pliability  we  combine  flexibility  and  elasticity. 

(a)     Flexibility;    wood   which    is    easily    bent    without 
breaking  is  flexile  (flexible).    Softwoods  are  nat- 
urally less  flexile  than  hardwoods. 
Flexibility  depends  on: 

1.  Toughness  and  cohesive  force  of  fibre. 

2.  ]\Ioisture,  which  increases  it  very  much. 

3.  Heat,  which  increases  it. 

4.  Age    of   tree,    inasmuch    as   young    shoots 

are  tougher  than  old  wood. 

5.  Impregnation,  natural  as  well  as  artificial, 


6o  I- O REST    UTILIZATION 

checks  flexibility.     (Heartwood  less  flexi- 
ble than  sapwood.) 
6.     Root  wood  more  flexible  than  stem  wood. 

Remarks :    Heat  and  moisture  as  a  means  to  in- 
crease flexibility  are  applied  in  these  industries: 

Cooperage;  for  bending  staves  and  hoop  poles. 

Carriage  works ;    for  bending  poles,  shafts,  felloes, 
top  frames,  seats  etc. 

Furniture ;    bent  wood  furniture. 

Ship   building. 

Veneer  peeling. 

Basket  work. 

Manufacture  of  musical  instruments, 
(b)  Elasticity  and  flexibility  are  not  always  found  in 
the  same  piece  of  wood.  On  the  contrary,  quali- 
ties which  increase  flexibility  frequently  reduce 
elasticity,  and  vice  versa.  Elasticity  is  the  force 
with  which  an  object  resumes  its  old  shape  when 
pressed  out  of  shape  and  released. 

The  factors  of  elasticity  are : 

1.  Long  and  straight  fibre. 

2.  Narrow  rings  in  conifers. 

3.  Dryness    (moisture   reduces   elasticity). 

4.  Frost  (which  destroys  elasticity). 

5.  Excessive    contents    of    rosin    (which    in- 

creases the  elasticity). 

schedule'  of  elasticity. 

Ver.v  elr.stio  are:  Less  elastic  are: 

Yew  Cottonwood 

•    Larch  Birch 

Fir  Maple 

Locust  Elm 

Chestnut  Alder 

Hickory  Walnut 

Osage    orange  Yellow    pine 

Red    cedar  Yellow  poplar 

Lancewood  Beech 

Spruce 

White    pine 

Ash 

Oak 

V.     Strength. 

Strength  is  resistance  to: 

(a)  Tension;    to  which  timber  is  usually  not  exposed. 

(Yoke  of  oxen  pulling  the  cart  by  the  pole.) 

(b)  Compression    (arches,   pillars,   scantling). 

(c)  Torsion    (shafts,  screws,  axles). 

(d)  Shearing. 

(e)  Transverse  straining  (beams,  girders,  joists). 

Factors  of  strength  are: 

1.  Specific  gravity. 

2.  Soundness  of  tissue. 

3.  Freedom  from  branches. 

Timber,   like  any  other  material,   should  never  be 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  6i 

loaded  to  over  one-fourth  of  its  indicated 
strength. 
Transverse  strength  is  always  proportioned  to  length 
of  girder;  to  width  of  girder;  and  to  the  square 
of  the  depth  of  girder.  It  is  the  quality  of  tim- 
ber which  is  most  required  in  timber  used  for 
building  purposes. 
VI.     Hygroscopical  qualities. 

(a)  Timber  changes  form,  coherence  and  volume  with 

greater  or  lesser  ease  under  the  influence  of  moist- 
ure, applied  in  gaseous  or  liquid  form.  Hence 
shrinking,  swelling,  warping,  checking,  cracking, 
casehardening  and  working. 

(b)  Water  invariably  saturates  the  cell  walls;    in  addi- 

tion, it  may  or  may  only  partiallj-  fill  the  lumina. 

(c)  Sapwood  invariably  contains  more  water  than  heart- 

wood. 

(d)  Rate  of  dryness  depends  on  the  species,  looseness  of 

tissue,  dimensions  of  object  to  be  dried,  presence 
or  absence  of  bark  cover  in  logs,  preceding  treat- 
ment by  floating,  deadening,  steaming,  prevalence 
of  sapwood  or  heartwood,  season  of  year,  ex- 
posure to  wind,  climate  etc. 

(e)  Boiling  and  steaming  reduce  the  hygroscopicity  and 

produce,  consequently,  a  more  even  shrinkage. 

(f)  The  evaporation  from  the  cross  section  bears  to  that 

of  the  tangential  and  to  that  of  the  radial  section 
the  ratio  of  8  to  i  to  2. 

(g)  In  the  dry  kiln,  temperatures  of  i6o  degrees  to  i8o 

degrees  Fahrenheit  are  gradually  produced.    Dry- 
ing is  accomplished  by  hot  air,  steam  and  moving 
air. 
Conifers    stand   the   dry   kiln   process   much   better 
than   hardwoods.     The  better  qualities  of  hard- 
woods undergo  air  drying  before  being  kiln  dried, 
especially  so  in  wagon,  furniture  and  barrel  fac- 
tories. 
The  dry  kiln  saves  insurance  and  interest  on  large 
stocks  of  lumber  and  allows  the  lumberman  to 
rapidly  fill  pressing  orders  for  lumber, 
(h)     Wood  is  least  permeable  for  water  in  the  direction 
of  the  tangent  or  vertically  to  the  medullary  rays 
— a  fact  important  for  tight  cooperage. 
I.'    Shrinkage. 

It  is  least  along  the  fibre :    it  is  up  to  5  % 
along  the  radius  and  is  up  to  lo  %  along 
the  tangent. 
Shrinkage   of   over   5  %    of   green    volume 


62  FOREST    UTILIZATION 


occurs  in  walnut,  linden,  beech,  elm, 
chestnut,  birch. 

Shrinkage  of  3  %  to  5  %  occurs  in  oak, 
maple,  sycamore,  ash,  cottonwood,  yellow 
pine. 

Shrinkage  of  2  %  to  3  %  occurs  in  spruce, 
larch,  fir  and  white  pine. 

A  large  percentage  of  rosin,  narrow  annual 
rings  and  light  specific  gravity  reduce 
shrinkage  within  the  same  species. 

Checking. 

It  depends  on  the  rapidity  of  the  drying 
process;  on  size  and  dimension  of  ob- 
ject; on  peeling  of  logs;  on  homogeneity 
of  tissue. 

Checks  are  often  of  a  temporary  nature, 
disappearing  when  the  inner  layers  are 
as  dry  as  the  outer  layers. 

Hardwoods  check  much  worse  than  soft- 
woods; and  rift  sawed  or  quarter  sawed 
lumber  checks  less  than  bastard  sawed 
lumber. 

Remedies  against  checking  of  logs  are : 
Winter  cutting;  strips  of  bark  left  near 
the  end  of  peeled  logs ;  felling  with  the 
roots  and  leaving  the  crown  on  the  un- 
dissected  bole;  deadening;  "S"  shaped 
iron  clamps  driven  into  logs;  boards 
nailed  onto  the  ends  of  the  logs ;  earth 
cover  at  the  ends  of  the  logs;  red  lead 
painting  for  export  logs. 

Remedies  against  checking  of  lumber  are : 
Quarter  sawing;  slow  air  drying  under 
sheds;  veneer  sawing;  steaming  or  boil- 
ing; sticks  placed  close  to  the  ends  of 
tiers  in  lumber  piles. 

Checks  are  radial  since  the  tangential 
shrinkage  is  greatest.  The  so-called  wind 
(or  ring)  shakes  are  not  caused  by  the 
hygroscopicity  of  the  timber;  they  are 
merely  a  form  of  disease  of  timber,  due 
to  frost,  heat,  fire  or  insect  plagues  inter- 
fering with  the  radial  cohesion  of  ad- 
joining rings. 

Swelling,  warping  and  working. 

These  phenomena  are  due  to  reabsorption 
of  water  after  drying.  The  swelling  is 
greatest  tangentially.     Heartwood  warps 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  63 

less  than  sapwood,  and  conifers  warp 
less  than  hardwoods.  Boards  obtained 
from  close  to  the  slab  warp  worst  of  all. 
Remedies  against  working  are  steaming; 
varnishing;  forming  boards  by  gluing 
fine  veneers  one  upon  another;  allowing 
framework  of  doors  to  be  sufficiently 
grooved  for  receiving  the  panels. 
VII.     Duration  of  wood. 

(a)  Duration  of  wcod  depends  on: 

1.  The  surrounding  conditions;    i.   e.,  tropics 

or  arid  deserts ;  presence  of  insects 
(ants  and  fungi)  ;  contact  with  clay, 
limestone  or  sandy  soil ;  immersion  in 
water  (toredo)  ;  exposure  to  atmos- 
phere ;  moisture  conditions ;  presence 
of  preserving  matter  (salt  water,  cop- 
per mine  water). 

2.  The   natural   qualities  of   wood,   especially 

the  presence  or  absence  of  rosin,  tannin 
and  other  preservatives ;  the  specific 
gravity ;  the  percentage  of  sapwood ; 
the  susceptibility  to  fungus  and  insect 
diseases.  Locust,  red  cedar,  sequoia, 
bald  cypress,  are  less  subject  to  such  dis- 
eases when  dead  than  when  alive. 

(b)  Remedies  against  destruction  are :    Impregnation  or 

painting;  charring  the  part  imbedded  in  the  soil; 
winter  cutting:  change  of  species  when  replac- 
ing ties;  kiln  drying  and  steaming  and  smoking; 
raising  buildings  high  above  ground. 

(c)  Bulletin   No.    10  gives   the   following   data    for   the 

average  "life"  of  ties : 

White  and  chestnut  oak,  8  years 

Chestnut,  8 

Tamarack,  7 — 8 

Cherry  and  walnut,  7 

Elm,  6—7       " 

Longleaf  pine,  6 

Hemlock,  4 — 6 

Spruce,  5 

Red  and  black  oaks,  4 — 5 

Ash,  beech,  maple,  4 

Locust,   cypress,  10 

Red  cedar,  10 

Redwood,  12 


64  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

(d)     Schedule  for   lumber: 

Very  durable.  Durable.  Short  lived. 

Walnut  Ash  Beech 

Locust  Larch  Sycamore 

Sequoia  Yellow  pine        Birch 

Cedar  Spruce  Linden 

White  oak  Fir  Cottonwood 

Catalpa  Yellow  poplar     White  pine 

Sassafras  Douglas  fir  > 

Chestnut 
Longleaf  pine 
VIL     Heating  power. 

Heating  power  or  fuel  value  bears  a  direct  ratio  to  specific 
gravity  air  dry.  All  wood  fibre  having  the  specific  gravity 
1.56,  equal  air  dry  weights  of  our  common  species  furnish 
equal  heat.  On  the  other  hand,  light  weight  means  greater 
inflammability  and  a  quicker  heat,  which  naturally  lasts  for 
a  short  time  only.  The  heating  power  of  hard  coal  is  to  that 
of  lignite  and  to  that  of  wood  as  5.2  :  4.3  :  i.  In  other 
words,  5.2  lbs.  of  dry  wood  yield  as  much  heat  as  4.3  lbs.  of 
lignite  or  as  I  lb.  of  coal. 
Influencing  factors  are  found  in  the  following  moments : 

(a)  Presence   of  rosin  increases   the  heating  power   by 

about  12  %. 

(b)  A  cord  of  wood  containing  45  %  moisture  has,  after 

German  experiments,  the  heating  power  of  half  a 
cord  of  air  dried  wood.  After  Sargent,  the  dis- 
crepancy is  not  as  great.  One  cord  of  green  wood 
contains  250  gallons  of  water,  and  the  calories  of 
heak  required  to  convert  this  large  amount  of 
water  into  steam  are  lost  for  heating  purposes. 

(c)  Unsound  wood  has  a  reduced  heating  power,  the  cell 

walls  being  decayed. 

(d)  Chestnut,  and  to  a  certain  extent  larch  and  spruce, 

are  despised  in  open  fires  owing  to  crackling  and 
emission  of  sparks.  Black  gum  is  despised  be- 
cause it  is  difficult  to  split  ancV  therefore  difficult 
to  season.  Hornbeam,  birch  and  alder  are  said  to 
furnish  a  particularly  quiet  flame. 

(e)  Schedule  of  the  heating  power  of  wood  per  cord : 

Best.          Good.             Moderate.  Bad. 

Hickory        Oak                 Spruce  White   pine 

Beech            Ash                 Fir  Alder 

Hornbeam    Birch             Chestnut  Linden 

Locust          Maple             Hemlock  Cottonwood 
Heart  pine                         Sap   pine 
IX.     Miscellaneous  technical  qualities  of  wood. 

(a)     Adaptability    to    planing   and    molding;     varnishing 
and  polishing;    painting  and  gluing. 


f  ORE  SI     L  ilLIZAilOX  63 

(b)  Nail   holding  power,   which  is   said  to   be  excellent 

in  chestnut,  white  pine  and  hemlock. 

(c)  Twisted    growth,    which    is    frequent     in     chestnut, 

Italian  poplar  and  horse  chestnut.  Certain  twists 
are  due  to  a  hypertrophical  growth  of  the  tissue 
and  are  highly  prized  by  the  trade  under  the 
names  of  birdseye  maple,  curly  poplar,  curly 
walnut,  curly  cherry  and  curly  ash  etc.  It  is  im- 
possible to  say  whether  a  standing  tree  is  "curly" 
or  not.  Sap-sucking  woodpeckers  may  start  the 
"freak." 

(d)  Knots  check  the  value  of  lumber.    A  standard  knot 

is  a  sound  knot,  the  diameter  of  which  varies  ac- 
cording to  local  inspection  from  1%"  to  i^"- 
Dry,  dead  and  unsound  knots  throw  a  board  into 
the  mill  cull  pile.  Usually,  the  knotty  part  of  a 
log  is  saw^n  into  dimension  stuff.  The  core  of  a 
log,  even  in  yellow  poplar,  necessarily  shows 
knots,  since  there  is  no  height  growth  without 
simultaneous  formation  of  side  branches. 

(e)  The   discoloration   of   the   inner  layers    of    certain 

species  which  are  not  classed  as  heartwoods 
(beech  and  maple)  is  a  disease  often  found  in  old 
trees  and  causes  rejection  for  certain  applications 
in  the  trades   (impregnation). 


CHAPTER  V.     MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES. 

§  XVir.      THE     S.\W     MILL. 

A.     The  saw. 

Three  kinds  of  log  saws  are  used : 
I.     Straight  saws,  viz  : 

^'ertical   straight   saw  ; 
Gang  saws ; 
Horizontal  frame  saw. 
II.     Circular  saws,  viz. : 

Solid  tooth  single  saw ; 
Solid  tooth  double  saw ; 
Inserted  tooth   saw. 
III.     Band  saws,  viz.  : 

Single  cutting  band  saw ; 
Double  cutting  band  saw. 
I.     Straight  saw^s. 

(a)  Single  vertical  straight  saw.  At  the  toothed 
edge  this  saw  has  a  thickness  of  from  5  to  10 
gauges.  Its  blade  is  8  inches  wide  and  at  least 
twice  as  long  as  the  log  diameter. 


66  FOREST    UTILIZATION 


A  short  blade  yields  the  finest  work,  since  it  can 
be   spanned  more   tightly. 

The  gauge  along  the  back  should  be  finer  than 
the   gauge   along  the   cutting  line. 

The  saw  can  cut  any  thickness  of  trees. 

The  saw  cuts  only  by  the  down  stroke  while  the 
log  is  moved  against  the  saw  during  the  up 
stroke. 

The  saw  is  spanned  in  a  guide  frame  and  is  given 
as  many  inches  inclination  toward  the  log  as 
the  feed  of  the  carriage  per  stroke  amounts  to. 
If  the  saw  were  not  inclined  all  the  work  would 
be  done  by  the  lowest  teeth. 

The  usual  set  is  still  the  spring  set  and  not  the 
swage  set,  although  the  latter  is  sure  to  be  su- 
perior. 

Usually  the  ends  of  the  boards  are  not  sawn 
through  but  are  held  together  by  the  "comb," 
which  is  finally  split  with  the  axe. 

In  filing  mill  saws,  obtain  sufficient  pitch  of  teeth 
to  prevent  saw  from  kicking  out  of  the  cut.  Too 
much  pitch,  however,  causes  chattering. 

Gullets  must  be  kept  carefully  rounded. 

(b)  Gang  saws.     They  are  used  in  large  mills  for  in- 

ferior logs. 
The  best  make  is  Wickes  Bros.,'  Saginaw,   Mich. 

Enormous  stone  foundations  are  required. 
The  saw   frame  has   an   oscillating  motion   which 

presents  the  saw  to  the  cut  in  an  easy   raking 

sweep,   forcing  each   tooth  to   do  its   full   share 

of  the   work. 
Gang  saws  are  not  fed  from  a  carriage.     The  logs 

are  run  through  feed  rolls,  feeding  the  logs  into 

the  saws. 
Blades   are  6  to    lo  inches   wide   and  of  8   to  i6 

gauge. 
Horsepower    required    is    said   to    be    for    friction, 

3  horsepower ;  for  first  blade  4  horsepower,  and 

for  every  additional  blade  Yz   horsepower  more. 
Where  log  heaps  (up  to  12  logs)  are  run  through 

the  gang  saw,  the  logs  are  slabbed  by  a  "rosser" 

or  "log  siding   machine,"    so   that   the   logs  can 

be  placed  one  upon  another. 

(c)  Horizontal    frame    saw.     It   is   used  to    cut    fine 

veneers  and  valuable  timber.  Its  advantage  lies 
in  the  fact  that  very  little  weight  rests  on  the 
saw,  that  the  saw  can  cut  on  both  trips   (to  and 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  67 

fro),   that  high  speed  may  be  applied  and  that 
a  thin  gauge  can  be  used. 
The   best  make   is   Kirschner's,   Leipzig,   Germany. 
II.     Circular  saws. 

(a)  Power. 

Ten  horsepower  should  manufacture  5,000  b.  feet 
per  day;  20  horsepower  should  manufacture 
10,000  b.  feet  per  day;  30  horsepower  should 
manufacture  30,000  b.  feet  per  day,  and  each  ad- 
ditional horsepower  should  add  1,000  b.  feet  to 
amount  cut.  This  amount  depends  on  size  of 
logs. 

Five  horsepower  is  required  for  a  20-inch  to  30- 
inch  saw ;  12  horsepow'er  for  a  30-inch  to  40- 
inch  saw;  15  horsepow-er  for  a  48-inch  to  50- 
inch  saw ;  25  horsepower  for  a  50-inch  to  62- 
inch  saw. 

(b)  Right  hand  and  4eft  hand  mills. 

If  the  carriage  is  to  the  left  of  the  observer  while 
the  saw  runs  towards  him,  the  mill  is  a  left 
hand  mill,  and  vice  versa.  A  right  hand  saw  is 
screwed  to  the  arbor  by  a  left  hand  nut  and  is 
usually  driven  by  a  left  hand  steam  engine. 

Center  crank  engines  can  be  used  for  either  right 
or  left  hand  mills. 

(c)  Speed. 

The  proper  speed  at  the  rim  of  any  circular  saw 
is  9,000  feet  per  minute. 

There  should  be  a  speed  indicator  to  control  the 
saw's  speed.     It  costs  75c. 

If  the  power  is  too  light  to  run,  the  mill  at  stand- 
ard speed,  portable  mill  men  usually  increase 
the  speed  of  the  engine,  putting  a  larger  receiv- 
ing pulley  on  the  saw  mandrel. 

(d)  Proper  qualities  of  a  saw. 

1.  The    usual   thickness   is   7,   8  or  9  gauge. 

Frequently  the  center  is  one  gauge  heav- 
ier than  the  rim. 

2.  There    should   be    a    sufficient    number    of 

teeth  for  the  amount  of  feed. 

Each  tooth  should  cut  as  much  as  is  of- 
fered to  it  at  a  revolution. 

To  cut  one  inch  of  lumber  one  may  use 
either : 

Eight  teeth,  cutting  l4  inch  each  at  a 
revolution,  or 

Sixteen  teeth,  cutting  1-16  inch  each  at  a 
revolution,  or 


68  rORILST    niLIZATION 


Thirty-two  teeth,  cutting  1-32  inch  each 
at  a   revolution. 

The  number  of  teeth  for  one  inch  of  feed 
should  be,  in  hard  timber,  16  teeth ;  in 
medium  timber,  12  teeth,  and  in  soft 
timber,  8  teeth. 

The  usual  feed  is  from  i  to  6  inches  per 
revolution.  The  quicker  the  feed  the 
more  teeth  are  required  to  do  the  work. 

The  saw  must  be  perpendicularly  hung; 
must  slip  on  the  mandrel  against  the  fast 
collar  easily,  so  as  not  to  twist  the  saw 
out  of  true,  thus  causing  it  to  buckle 
when  the  loose  collar  is  tightened  up. 

The  loose  collar  is  hollow  at  the  center 
(small  saws  excepted)  and  has  about  6 
inches  diameter  and  ^  inch  rim. 

By  pressing  a  layer  of  writing  paper  be- 
tween the  collar  and  the  saw  the  saw 
may  be  slightly  bent  toward  or  away 
from  the  carriage. 

The  saw  must  be  evenly  set  (either  spring 
or  swage  set).  The  teeth,  filed  square 
(not  to  a  point  but  to  a  cutting  edge), 
must  form  an  exact  circle  and  must  re- 
tain that  form  in  the  course  of  operation. 

The  teeth  must  have  the  proper  pitch. 
A  shallow  tooth  cuts  the  smoothest  lum- 
ber, but  forbids  of  rapid  feeding. 

The  modern  shape  of  teeth  is  such  as  will 
facilitate  filing  and  as  will  preserve  the 
original   pitch. 

A  tooth  gets  dull  over  as  much  of  an  inch 
as  it  cuts. 

The  gullet  of  the  tooth  must  be  larger  for 
soft  wood  than  for  hard  wood.  Large 
gullets  weaken  the  saw,  small  ones  in- 
crease  the    friction   very   badly. 

A  tooth  should  be  filed  two  to  four  times 
a  day.  The  backs  of  the  teeth  must 
never    protrude    beyond    the   point. 

Gullets  must  be  kept  circular  carefully.  Any 
sharp  edge  in  a  gullet  is  sure  to  cause  a 
crack. 

The  mandrel  must  not  heat  in  the  jour- 
nals. The  boxes  require  frequent  rebab- 
bitting.  The  stem  of  the  mandrel  must 
be  exactly  level  and  perfectly  straight. 


fOREST    LTILIZ Alios  69 

Mandrels  run  hot  owing  to  excessive  fric- 
tion in  bearings,  to  excessive  tightness 
of  behs,  insufficient  lubrication  or  heat- 
ing of  the  saw  in  the  center. 

A  hot  mandrel  expands  the  saw  in  the 
center,   causing   crooked   sawing. 

(e)  Lining    of    the    saw    with    the    carriage    into    the 

log. 

The  saw  must  "lead  into  the  cut"  just  sufficiently 
to  keep  the  saw  in  the  cut.  The  proper  lead  is 
yi  inch  in  20  feet.  Too  much  lead  into  the  cut 
causes  the  saw  to  heat  at  the  rim.  A  lead  out 
of  the  cut  causes  the  saw  to  heat  at  the  center. 

The  Ys  inch  lead  in  20  feet  is  obtained  by  sighting 
over  the  saw  and  fixing  the  saw  plane  for  a 
radius  of  10  feet.  This  may  be  done  by  putting 
two  staffs  vertically  into  the  ground  10  feet  from 
the  saw  center  behind  and  in  front  of  the  saw ; 
that  done,  a  horizontal  stick  is  fastened  to  a  head 
block  so  as  to  just  touch  the  forward  staff.  Then 
the  carriage  is  gigged  backward  to  the  other 
vertical  staff  where  the  horizontal  stick  must 
lack   exactly   y?,    inch   from   touching. 

(f)  Filing  room. 

Automatic  sharpeners  and  gummers  are  required 
for  mills  having  over  15,000' feet  daily  capacity. 

Setting  instrimients  for  spring  set  are  similar  to 
those  used  with  cross  cut  saws,  constructed 
either  after  the  wrench  principle  or  after  the 
block  and  hammer  principle. 

The  spring  set  is  gradually  discarded  for  the  swage 
set. 

In  swaging  use  oil  on  the  point  of  the  tooth,  after 
filing  to  a  sharp  point.  Swaging  should  draw 
the  tooth  out  and  should  not   shove  it  back. 

The  set  or  swage  of  teeth  should  increase  the 
gauge  at  the  rim  by  at  least  3-32  of  an  inch. 

The  pitch  of  the  tooth  might  be  controlled  by  a 
so-called  trammel. 

Gumming  is  required  to  preserve  the  original  hook 
or  rake  of  the  tooth  as  well  as  the  original  round- 
ness of  the  gullet. 

Gumming  as  well  as  sharpening  are  usually  done 
with  emery  wheels. 

Emery  wheel  rules  are  as  follows: 

T.  Do  not  put  too  much  pressure  on  emery 
wheel  so  as  not  to  change  the  temper  of 
the  tooth  (bluing  and  casehardening  and 
consequently  crumbling  of  the  tooth). 


70  FOREST    UTILIZATION 


2.  Do  not  try  to  fix  a  tooth  fully  at  one  time. 

Treat  it  gradually  at  five  or  six  revolu- 
tions of  the  saw. 

3.  Proper  speed  for  emery  wheels  at  the  rim 

is  4,500  feet  per  minute. 

4.  After  gumming  remove  the  irregularities  at 

the  edges  with  a  side  file,  since  cracks  in 
saw  are  apt  to  start  from  them. 

5.  Hammering    becomes   necessary  when   the 

use  of  emery  wheels  has  caused  the  saw 

to  expand  ("let  down")  at  the  rim. 
For  small  mills  gumming  with  a  file  or  a 

butt  gummer  is  preferable  to  the  use  of 

emery  wheel. 
Soft  wood  requires  more  set  or  spread  and 

less  pitch  than  hard  wood. 
Swaging  is  also  called  upsetting  or  spread 

setting, 
(g)    Inserted  tooth   circular  saws. 

1.  The  insertion  into  each  socket  of  the  rim 

consists  of  a  holder  and  of  a  chisel  point. 
These  points  are  extremely  hard ;  still 
they  can  be  filed  and  swaged  with  the 
help  of  specially  constructed  files.  It 
does  not  pay,  however,  to  spend  much 
time  in  filing  since  new  points  are  cheap, 
and  since  they  are  readily  inserted  with 
the  help  of  a  special  wrench. 

Points  are  oiled  before  being  inserted. 

When  renewing  one  individual  point  be 
sure  to  have  it  dressed  down  to  corre- 
spond to  the  line  of  old  points. 

If  the  saw  guide  is  not  properly  adjusted 
it  may  touch  the  holder  and  smash  the 
saw. 

2.  Advantages   of   inserted   tooth   saw   are : 
Less  experience  is  required  for  dressing  a 

saw. 

Less  filing  and  gumming. 

Less   saw  repairs  in  backwoods. 

Diameter  of  saw  remains  unchanged  dur- 
ing its  use. 

3.  Disadvantages  of  inserted  tooth   saw  are : 
The  saw  kerf  is  very  heavy. 

The  teeth  are  large  and  hence  few,  so  that 
feed  must  be  comparatively  slow. 

The  price  of  the  inserted  tooth  saw  is 
higher  than  that  of  the  solid  tooth  saw. 


i^'ORiisr  LU LIZA  I  lay  71 

The  best  makes  are  the  Atkins  and  Disston 
saws, 
(h)    The  double  circular  saw. 

For  big  logs  and  high  speed  a  double  circular  saw 
must  be  used. 

The  width  of  the  widest  board  which  a  single  cir- 
cular saw  may  cut  equals  radius  minus  three 
inches.  Hence  much  valuable  material  is  wasted 
in  the  common  circular  saw  mill  sawing  heavy 
logs. 

The  double  circular  saw  shows  an  under  or  lower 
saw  of  56  inches  or  60  inches  and  an  upper  saw 
of  30  inches  or  36  inches  diameter.  The  top  saw 
should  have  a  reversed  motion  (so  as  not  to 
throw  sawdust  into  the  lower  saw),  an  arrange- 
ment which  it  is  difficult  to  secure. 

A  hanger  top  saw  can  be  added  readil-y  to  any  sin- 
gle saw.  Both  saws  should  have  the  same  speed 
at  rim. 

The  top  saw  should  remain  inactive  so  as  not  to 
use  up  power  when  small  logs  are  sawn. 

Inserted  teeth  are  not  used  at  the  double  mills. 

The  advantages  of  the  double  saw  mill  are: 

1.  Less  chattering  and  truer  cut  than   would 

be  possible  for  one  big  saw. 

2.  Thinner  kerf. 

3.  Faster  feed. 

4.  Eess  expense  for  saws. 

5.  Less   repairs. 

(i)  Remarks  relative  to  "putting  up"  portable  circular 
saw  mills  : 

The  minimum  yard  required  is  50,000  board  feet. 

The  expense  of  tearing  down  and  putting  up  again 
is  about  $50. 

For  foundation  timbers,  place  two  pieces  8  x  10 
inches  x  11  feet  long  on  either  side  of  the  saw 
pit  (3  feet  deep)  and  underneath  the  "husk."  One 
piece  4x6  inches  x  7^  feet  long  is  saddled  into 
the  two  big  pieces,  spanning  the  saw  pit  under- 
neath the  far  rail  of  the  track. 

Construct  the  carriage  track  absolutely  straight 
and  level  on  the  track  ties  (16  to  25  in  number) 
and  on  the  saw  pit  span. 

Place  carriage  with  rack  shaft,  feed  and  gig  works 
in  place  and  fasten  the  track  by  cleats  and  nails 
solidly  to  the  foundation  timbers.  Then  place  the 
husk  on  them  at  a  distance  of  about  6  inches 
from  the  track,  putting  wedge  blocks  between  the 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

husk  and  track.  Then  spike  the  husk  to  its 
foundation — to  begin  with  in  two  places  only, 
viz. :  at  the  sawyer's  corner  and  at  the  middle  of 
the  opposite  side,  so  as  to  enable  the  sawyer  to 
change  the  lead  by  wedging  the  blocks.  Then  fix 
or  hang  the  saw,  set  the  saw  guide  and  fire  away. 
III.     Band  saws. 

(a)  The  blade. 

The  blade  material  is  steel.  The  width  of  the 
blade  for  log  band  saws  is  from  lo  inches  to  i6 
inches — 14   inches   being  usual. 

Gauge  of  blade  is  from  19  gauge  to  13  gauge. 

Under  tension  of  blade  is  understood  the  curvature 
across  the  width,  which  is  increased  or  decreased 
by  hammering  at  center  or  at  edge.  The  tension 
gauge  with  curved  edge  guides  the  filer. 

(b)  The  tooth. 

Its  width  is  from  i'4  inch  to  2'^  inch. 
The  hook  or  pitch  is  from  40°  to  65°. 
The  depth   should  be  as  shallow  as  possible,   with 

gullets   kept    round,    since    cracks    usually   start 

from  a  corner  in  the  gullet. 
For   sharpening   the   tooth,    a  medium    soft   emery 

wheel  should  be  used  and  should  not  be  crowded 

too  hard  against  the  saw,  so  as  to  prevent  case- 
hardening. 
The  teeth  are  swaged — never  spring  set — like  gang 

saws.     The  full  amount  of  set  should  not  exceed 

9  gauge  in  a  14  inch  saw. 
Side    filing    or    side    dressing,    after    swaging,    is 

usually   practiced,    although   objected  to   by   the 

saw  makers. 
For    gumming,    either    a    gumming    press    or    the 

emery  wheel   is   used. 

(c)  The  filing  room. 

Every  band  saw  mill  has  a  separate  filing  room 
equipped  with  automatic  dressing  machines,  i.  e., 
automatic  sharpener,  automatic  swage,  automatic 
swage  shaper,  saw  stretcher  etc. 

In  the  band  saw  mill,  the  filer  is  considered  more 
important  than  the  sawyer  for  the  success  of 
the  mill. 

Saws  are  changed  three  or  four  times  a  day. 

"Brazing"  of  a  band  saw  means  joining  the  loose 
ends,  uniformly  beveled  or  ground  to  a  feather 
edge  ^  inch  long.  A  strip  of  silver  solder  is 
placed  between  the  cleaned  laps,  which  are  then 
taken  between  the  cheeks  of  the  brazing  clamps 
heated  to  a  bright  red  heat.     After  pressing  the 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  73 

clamps  together  for  several  minutes  and  allow- 
ing them  to  cool,  the  braze  is  dressed  down  with 
a  file  to  the  proper  thickness. 
The  filer  arrests  cracks  by  punching  a   small  pin 
hole  or  dot  at  extremity  of  crack. 

(d)  The   wheels. 

The  band  saw  runs,  belt  like,  over  two  wheels 
weighing  from  1,500  to  3,000  pounds  (the  lower 
heavier  than  the  upper)  ;  the  lower  wheel  driving 
the  upper  by  the  band  saw. 

The  strain  on  the  saw,  which  should  not  exceed 
5.000  pounds  and  by  which  slipping  off  is  pre- 
vented, is  obtained  by  raising  the  upper  wheel. 

The  diameters  of  the  wheels  are  8  to  10  feet,  the 
face  about  11  inches,  the  teeth  overlapping  the 
wheel. 

The  crown  of  the  tire  is  up  to   1-64  inch. 

The  entire  length  of  the  log  band  saw  varies  from 
30  feet  to  70  feet. 

The  saw  guides,  lined  w^ith  wood  or  babbit  metal, 
prevent  the  cutting  part  of  the  blade  from  bend- 
ing toward  the  carriage  or  toward  the  wheels, 
while  the  guard  rolls,  standing  about  2  inches 
back  of  the  saw,  prevent  it  from  slipping  back- 
ward at  the  approach  of  the  log. 

The  maximum  diameter  of  logs  that  can  be  handled 
by  band  saws  is  about  90  inches. 

The  weight  of  a  band  saw  mill  complete  is  20.000 
to  40,000  pounds. 

(e)  The  "Allis"  double  cutting  telescopic  band  saw. 
The  saw  blade  has  teeth  on  both  edges,  so  that  a 

board  is  obtained  at  each  trip  of  the  carriage. 
The  entire  mill  is  raised  or  lowered  by  hydraulic 
pressure  with  a  view  to  bringing  the  top  of  the 
logs  immediately  underneath  the  upper  wheel. 
IV.     Conclusions. 

(a)  The  superiority  of  the  band  over  the  circular  saw 
lies  in  a  saving  of  i.oco  board  feet  in  every  16,- 
000  feet  of  4/4  inch  boards  obtained.  In  heavier 
planks  the  saving  is  less,  in  lighter  boards  more. 
The  boards  obtained  have  a  better  width.  Logs 
over  four  feet  through  cannot  be  handled  by 
circular  saws.  Further,  the  band  saw  allows  of 
a  more  rapid  feed.  Hence  it  is  used  preeminently 
for  valuable  logs,  for  big  logs  and  for  high  out- 
put. 
Frequently  mills  of  large  output  employ  simul- 
taneously band,  circular  and  gang  saws,  allotting 
the   logs  according  to  their   quality,   the  best  to 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

the  band  saw  and  the  poorest  to  the  gang  saw. 
Two  edgers  and  one  trimmer  can  take  care  of  such 
a  combined  output, 
(b)    Mammoth  mills  are  now  considered  uneconomical, 
since  it  is  difficult  to  take  care  oi  the  output  of 
boards  at  the  outlet   from  the  mill  floor. 
The  output  per  mill  hand  in  big  concerns  is  up 

to  7,5co  board  feet  daily. 
Four  acres  of  mill  pond  hold  up  to  1,000,000  board 

feet. 
Two   standard  gauge   trains   supply   an   output   of 
100,000  board  feet  from  an  average  distance  of 
10  miles,  daily. 
B.     The  carriage. 

I.     The  composing  parts  are : 

The  truck  with  head  blocks,  knees,  dogs,   set  works,  and 

the  driving  machinery. 
The  carriage  is  subject  to  the  roughest  treatment.     Still, 
its  proper  alignment  is  as  essential  as  that  of  the  saw. 
(a)  The   truck    is    made   of   timber   at   least   6   inches 
square,  thoroughly  seasoned  and  strongly  braced 
and  bolted. 
Construction  material  is : 

Up  North — Norway  pine,  birch  and  maple. 
Down  South — ^Yellow  pine  and  white  oak. 
The  length  should  correspond  with  the  maximum 

size  of  logs. 
So  called  screw   block  trailers  may  be  added,   in- 
creasing the  length   (in  longleaf  pine  mills)    up 
to  72  feet. 

(b)  The  head  blocks,  iron  with  steel  face,  are  let  into 

the  timbers  of  the  truck  and  form  a  groove  for 
the  tongue  of  the  knee,  which  slides  on  the  head 
blocks,  being  moved  forward  and  backward  by 
the  set  works. 
The  head  block  and  knee  form  a  right  angle  into 
which  the  log  is  firmly  pressed. 

(c)  The  knee  is  either  solid  or  hollow  and  carries  the 

dogs. 
The  dogs  are  hooks  or  clamps  or  teeth,  meant  to 

grasp  the  log.     They  are  fastened  either  inside 

or  outside  of  the  knee. 
Two   tooth   bars,  playing  inside   the   hollow   knee 

and    pressed   by   a    powerful    lever,    replace    the 

original   dogs  in  modern  mills. 
"Underdogs"  are  used  in  quarter  sawing. 
The   number   of  head   blocks,   knees   and   dogs   is 

variable.     The  minimum  is  two  of  each. 


fOKESr    LTILIZ Alius  75 

(d)  The  set  works  consist  of: 

The  set  beam,  a  shaft  running  underneath  the  car- 
riage from  head  block  to  head  block,  with  a 
pinion  at  each  head  block.  This  pinion  corre- 
sponds with  a  rack  forming  the  tongue  or  basis 
of  each  knee. 

The  index  disc  and  ratchet. 

The  set  lever,  handled  either  by  the  sawyer,  in 
small  saw  mills,  or  by  the  setter,  in  larger  mills. 

The  set  works  are  usually  double  acting,  so  that 
the  knees  advance  with  the  to  and  fro  motion 
of  the  set  lever. 

In  addition,  each  knee  can  be  moved  individually 
on  its  rack  by  the  so-called  taper  movement. 

The  knees,  before  a  new  log  is  loaded,  are  receded 
either  by  a  spring  device  or,  on  the  gig  motion 
of  the  carriage,  by  a  friction  device. 

The  brake  wheel  on  the  setshaft  acts  as  a  buffer 
when  logs  are  loaded  on  the  car. 

(e)  The  wheels. 

The  wheels  are  attached  either  to  the  carriage  or 
to  the  floor.     The  near  wheels  are  flat  on  the 
tire  and  the  far  wheels,  called  guide  wheels,  are 
grooved  on  the  tire. 
In  band  saws,  an  automatic  off-set  is  required  to 
prevent   the   face   of  the   log    from   striking  the 
saw  on  the  gig  motion. 
The  steel  rails  are  invariably  placed  on  stringers. 
II.     Driving  machinery. 

The  to  and  fro  trips  of  the  carriage  are  known  as   feed- 
ing and  gigging. 
In  small  mills  the  motive  power  is  derived  from  the  saw 
arbor  by: 

(a)  Rack  and  pinion  device. 

(b)  Chain,  rope  or  _cable  running  over  one  or  several 

sheave  drums. 

The  speed  is  regulated  either  by  so-called  cone 
pulleys  (two,  three  or  four  on  the  same  shaft) 
or  by  a  paper  friction  device. 

The  so-called  Reamy  Disc  Friction  allows  of  freely 
varying  the  speed. 

The  usual  feed,  with  the  cone  pulley,  is  from  H 
inch  to  3  inches  per  revolution  of  saw. 

In  large  saw  mills  the  piston  of  a  steam  cylinder 
pushes  the  carriage  to  and  fro  (so-called  shot- 
gun feed).  In  that  case  the  carriage  usually 
runs  on  three  rails  (center  guide  rail). 


76  FOREST    UTILIZATIOX 

C.  Additional  parts  of  high  grade  saw  mills: 

I.  "The  log  haul  np"  (elevator)  consists  of  a  flanged  foot 
wheel  and  an  inclined  trough,  on  the  bottom  of  which 
runs  a  strong  endless  chain  driven  by  sprocket  w'heels. 
The  chain  has  steps  (called  welds)  at  intervals  of  about 
6  feet. 

The  haul  up  is  driven  by  a  separate  engine  or  from  the 
main  shaft  by  double  gear  wheels.  It  consumes  a  great 
deal  of  power. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  haul  up,  a  log  flipper  "boxes"  the 
logs  out  of  the  trough  onto  the  log  deck,  which  is  usu- 
ally inclined  toward  the  carriage. 

On   the  log  deck,   the  logs  are   freed   from   dirt  and  bark 
by  hand. 
II.     '"The  nigger,"  handled  by  the  sawyer,  throws  the  logs  on 
the  carriage  and  turns  them  by  a  boxing  movement. 

III.  "The  hog"   is  a   steel   box  within   which  the   edgings   and 
*  trimmings    are    cut    into    small    slices    by    very    strong 

knives  rapidly  rotating. 

IV.  "Dust  convej'ors"  convey  the  output  of  the  hog  and  the 

sawdust  automatically  to  the  boilers. 

D.  The  edger. 

The  boards,  falling  from  the  log,  are  conveyed  automatically  or 
by  hand  to  the  edger. 
I.     Parts  of  the  edger  are : 

(a)  One   or  several  circular   saws  of   12   inches  to  28 

inches  diameter. 

(b)  Feed  works,  either  power  or  hand  driven,  consist- 

ing either  of  a  carriage  or  of  feed  rolls  or  of 
barbed  chains  by  which  the  boards  are  fed  into 
the  saws. 

(c)  Edger  table. 
II.     Task  of  the  edger  is: 

(a)  Removal  of  defects,  knots,  bark  edge  at  the  side  of 

a  board. 

(b)  Splitting  boards  into  pieces  of  different  quality. 

(c)  Rapid  sawing  to  proper  width  required  for  special 

purposes. 
III.     Kinds  of  edgers. 

(a)  Hand  feed  edger,  with  one  or  two  saws. 

(b)  Power  feed  edger,  usually  with  a  single  saw. 

(c)  Gang  edger. 
TV.     Pointers. 

(a)  The   distance   between   the    various    saws    in   gang 

edgers  is  regulated  b}^  overhead  levers  or  by 
hand  wheels. 

(b)  Several  boards  can  be  fed  at  one  time. 

(c)  The  attendant  of  the  edger  must  be  a  lumber  in- 


I'OKEST    UIILIZALIOX  77 

spector  at  the  same  time,  so  as  to  turn  out  the 
maximum  value  of  edged  product. 

(d)  The  boards  are  taken  to  the  edger  from  the  live 

rolls  onto  which  the  board  drops  from  the  log, 
either  by  hand  or  automatically,  by  chain  con- 
veyors. 

(e)  The   boards   are   conveyed   from   the   edger   to   the 

trimmer  by  hand. 

E.  The  trimmer. 

In  large  mills,  trimming  follows  edging.     In   small  mills,  edging 
follows   trimming. 
I.     Parts  of  the  trimrner  are  : 

(a)  One   or   several   circular   saws   about    i8   inches    in 

diameter.  A  one  saw  trimmer  is  called  a  "cut- 
off.''    • 

(b)  Feed  works,  viz. :    live  rolls  or  carriage  or  barbed 

chains  running  over   sprocket   wheels. 

(c)  Table. 

II.     Task  of  the  trimmer  is  : 

(a)  The   shortening  of  boards   to  standard   lengths   of 

6.  8.  ID,  12  and  up  to  20  feet,  allowing  2  inches 
extra  for  shrinkage. 

(b)  The    removal    of   defects   at   either   end,    so   as   to 

raise  a  board  into  a  higher  grade. 

(c)  The  cutting  of  straight  ends. 
III.     Pointer?. 

(a)  Where   two   saws   are   used,   the   distance   between 

them  is  changed  by  a  lever  or  by  a  screw  wheel, 
shifting  one  of  the  saws,  while  it  is  in  motion, 
along  the  shaft. 

(b)  Chain   power   fed   trimmers   are   used   in  all   large 

mills.  The  saws  are  either  jump  saws,  easily 
pushed  from  below  the  table  in  pairs,  or  swing 
saws,  hanging  above  the  table  and,  similarly, 
pressed  down  by  the  attendant  in  pairs  by  a 
touch    on   hand    or    foot   levers. 

F.  Yard  work.      (Sorting  and  piling.) 

I.     Sorting. 

The  board  after  leaving  the  trimmer  is  taken  up  by  a  chain 
or  cable  conveyor  and  passes  by  the  lumber  inspector, 
who  pencil-marks  its  quality. 
The  various  qualities  are  either  at  once  thrown  into  parallel 
gutter  conveyors,  leading  to  separate  chutes,  below  which 
a  wagon  or  truck  is  in  waiting,  or  are  transferred 
to  the  piles  by  endless  chain  conveyors,  by  hand  trucks 
and  wagons.  Frequently  elevated  roads  traverse  the 
yard  on  which  and  below  which  such  conveyance  takes 
place. 


78  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

II.     Piling. 

Strong,    high,    horizontal   ground    sills   are   of  the   utmost 

importance.     The  front  sill   should  be  higher  than  the 

middle  and  back  sills,  except  in  shed  drying. 
In  some  yards  the  front  of  the  piles  is  given  an  overhang- 
ing "batter,"  to  protect  it   from  rain,   an  arrangement 

feasible  only  in  low  piles.     The  usual  pitch  of  the  pile 

is  I  foot  in  10  feet  or  more. 
The  tiers  of  boards  are  kept  apart  by  three  or  four  well 

seasoned  cross  pieces  called  sticks — sawn  i  inch  square 

and  placed  directly  one  over  the  other. 
The  usual  width  of  the  piles  is  from  6  feet  to  lo  feet. 
The   distance  between   the  piles  is  at  least   one   foot  and 

should  be  three  feet. 
In   order   to  prevent   end   cracks,   the   sticking    should   be 

placed  exactly  at  the  ends,  slightly  projecting  over  the 

ends. 
Each   pile   must   contain   equal   lengths,   as   "overlaps"    are 

sure  to  get  spoiled. 
Valuable  wide  boards  are  often  painted  at  the  ends. 
Oak.   ash,  hickory  and  elm   require  at   least   four  months 

for  air   drying;   lynn,  poplar   and  pine  about   two  and 

a  half  months. 
Slow  drying  involves  a  loss  of  interest,  large  yard  room, 

large  insurance  and  slow  filling  of  orders.     Still  in  the 

case  of  high  grade  hardwoods,  the  use  of  the  dry  kiln 

is  disastrous  to  the  lumber. 
Thin    lumber   does   not   check   as   badly   as   thick    lumber. 

Squares  check  worst  of  all. 
A  fermentation  and  incidentally  a  discoloration  takes  place 

where  two  fresh  sawn  surfaces  touch  one  another. 
Each  pile  should  have  a  ropf  12  inches  high  in  front  and 

6  inches  high  in  back,  projecting  in  all  four  directions 

over  the  pile. 
Proper  curing  of  lumber  is  as  important  as  proper  sawing 

of  lumber. 
III.     Dry  kiln. 

A  dry  kiln  consists  of 

shed  with   gates  closing  tightly; 
lumber  conduit; 
heating  apparatus. 

The  heat  is  supplied — slowly — 
either  by  a  hot  air  fan ; 
or  by  a  system  of  steam  pipes; 
or  by  steam  admitted  into  drying  room. 
The  air  in  the  dry  kiln  must  be  kept  in  constant  move- 
ment,  so  as  to  prevent   unequal   drying  of  the  lumber 

in  the  piles. 


FOREST    LI  ILIZATIUS  79 

Lumber  can  be  more  evenly  dried  by  steam  than  by  hot 
air. 

Sapwater  heated  to  boiling  point  expands  600  times.  Con- 
sequently, wood  at  212°  F.  contains  only  1/600  of  the 
water  originally  found  therein. 

Before  building  a  mill  be  sure  to  consult  insurance  com- 
panies, submitting  mill  plans. 

The  insurance  company  prescribes  the  distance  between 
the  yard,  boiler  house,  engine  house,  mill  and  dry  kiln. 
The  rate  of  insurance  on  a  mill  is  5%  and  over. 

§  XVIII.      WOODWORKING    PLANT. 

A.     Planing    (surfacing,    dressing  or   sizing). 

The  planer  consists  of  cyluidrical  cutter  heads  carrying  two 
to  four  knives  and  making  3,000  to  S,ooo  revolutions  per  min- 
ute.    It  is  preferably  belted  at  both  sides. 

The  smaller  the  diameter  of  the  cylinder  with  its  knives,  the 
smoother  is  the  planing. 

The  feeding  is  done  either  by  two  to  four  feed  rolls  (above)  and 
friction  rolls  (below)  or  by  a  traveling  bed.  The  entire 
cutting  length  of  the  knives  should  be  uniformly  used. 

The  top  cutter  should  do  the  heavier  work  in  double  surfacers. 

The  knives  are  usually  sharpened  automatically. 

Lumber  is  fed  into  the  machine  at  the  rate  of  20  feet  to  150  feet 
per  minute.     Hardwoods  more  slowly  than  the  soft  woods. 

The  chip  breaker  is  merely)  a  front  pressure  bar  preventing  long 
splinters  from  being  torn  oflf. 

Price  of  single  planers  is  $100  to  $400;  of  double  planers  $400 
to  $800. 

No  machine  should  have  wood  in  its  construction. 

B.  Flooring. 

The  flooring  machine  is  a  surfacer  having  an  additional  outfit 
of  two  side  cutters  revolving  on  ratchet  spindles,  cutting 
tongues  and  grooves. 

The  machines  weigh  5  tons  and  more. 

The  usual  flooring  made  is  hard  maple. 

Planers  and  flooring  machines  must  be  provided  with  a  folding 
hood  connected  with  an  exhaust  fan,  so  as  to  prevent  the  shav- 
ings from  clogging  up  the  machinery  or  from  pressing  them- 
selves into  the  planed  surface. 

C.  Resawing. 

Resaws  are  either  circular  or  band  resaws. 

The  use  of  a  resaw  involves  a  great  saving,  since  it  takes  a  very 
fine  kerf  and  at  the  same  time  relieves  the  work  of  the  main 
saw. 

The  feed  is  automatic  and  consists  of  four  rolls. 

Circular  resaws  have  as  low  as  19  gauge  at  the  rim  and  are  fre- 
quently built  as  segment  saws. 


8o  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

D.  Ripping. 

The  rip  saw  is  a  circular  saw  running  on  a  bench  and  allowing, 
by  a  gauge  arrangement,  to  cut  any  desired  width  of  board  or 
strips.     It  is  usually  hand   fed. 

A  power  fed  gang  rip  saw  is  merely  an  edger. 

E.  Cut  ott  saws. 

Cut  oflf  saws  are  either  swing  saws,  jump  saws,  stationary  saws 
with  carriage  moved  by  hand  or  automatically,  or  traveling 
railway  cut  ofif  saws  when  the  saw  is  moved  horizontally 
against  the  timber. 

F.  Sand  papering. 

I.     Belt    sand    papering,     for    carriage    spokes,    axe    handles, 
buggy  poles  etc. 
II.     Disc  sand  papering,  notably  for  boxes. 

III.  Spindle   sand  papering,   for  small   tool   handles. 

IV.  Cylinder  drum  sand  papering. 

The  object  to  be  sand  papered  is  always  fed  onto  the  ma- 
chine by  hand. 

G.  Scraping. 

I'nder  "scraping"'  is  understood  the  removal  of  an  extremely  thin 

(not  over   1/64  inch)    layer  of  tissue  from  a  planed   surface. 

It   is   meant   to    replace   and   to  cheapen   the   process   of   sand 

papering,   and   is   not   intended   to    reduce   the   thickness.      The 

scraper  consists  of  power  driven,  smooth  feed  rolls  and  of  one 

stationary  knife,  over  which  the  boards  are  passed.     Corky  or 

stringy  lumber  cannot  be  scraped. 
H.     Mitering. 

In  mitering  the  stock  is  run  along  the  so-called  "fence"  against 

a  circular  saw,  the  plane  of  which  forms  a  variable  angle  with 

the  plane  of  the  saw  table. 
I.      Moulding. 

Mouldings  are  either  one,  two  or  four  sided. 

Cutter  heads,  into  which  cutters  of  variable  size  and  form  are 

inserted,  secure  any  variety  of  patterns  of  moulding.     Moulders 

are  often  called  "stickers." 
J.     Miscellaneous. 

Under   "matching''    is   understood  the  cutting  of   a  tongue   and 

groove  into  the  edge  of  box  boards,  flooring  boards  etc.     The 

work  is  done  by  a  knife  and  cutter  head. 
Under-  "gaining"  is  understood  the  ditching  across  a  piece. 
Under  "plowing"  is  understood  the  ditching  along  a  piece. 
"Tenoning"    is    especially   required   for   doors   and   blind   slats — 

single  and  double  tenons  being  distinguished. 
Door  panels  go  through  a  "panel  raising"  machine. 
Sash  and  door  "relishing"  means  the  biting  or  sawing  of  large 

teeth  into  the  tenon. 


rOREST    UTILIZATION  gi 


§  XIX.       VENEERING    PLANT. 


Veneers  are  either  sawn  or  peeled  (sliced).  The  furniture  factory  and 
the  package  trade  use  veneers,  with  entirely  different  ends  in  view,  on  a 
daily  increasing  scale. 

The  thickness  of  sliced  veneers  ranges  down  to  1/120  inch;  veneers 
less  than  r/40  inch  thick,  however,  are  rarely  used. 

Sawn  veneers  are  1/20  inch  thick  or  thicker. 

A.  Veneer  saws. 

Any  saw  of  a  fine  gauge  is  a  veneering  saw.  Largely  used  are  the : 
I.     Horizontal  mill  saw; 
II.     Fine  band  saw ; 
III.     Circular  saw  ground  to  a  fine  gauge    (19  gauge)    at  rim, 
strong  (5  to  10  gauge)  at  center;  there  is  only  one  col- 
lar, to  which  saw  is  screwed.     Veneer  saws  consisting 
of  sections  screwed  to  a  common  centerpiece  are  com- 
mon. 

B.  Veneer  cutting  machines. 

Logs  are  boiled  or   steamed    (in  exhaust)    for  several  hours   be- 
forehand.    Usually,  logs  3  to  5  feet  long  are  used,  the  length 
of  the  log  almost  equaling  the  length  of  the  knife. 
I.     The  rotary  machine  peels  any  log  of,  say,  over  18  inches 
diameter,    notably    poplar,    lynn.    gum    and    Cottonwood, 
into  thin   layers  by  revolving  the  log  slowly  against  a 
sharp    stationary   knife.      A    clipper    cuts    the    roll    into 
pieces  of  proper  size  for  strawberry  boxes,  staves,  potato 
barrels,  box  boards,  furniture  backing  etc.     The  core  of 
the  log,  some  6  inches  in   diameter,   does  not  allow   of 
peeling. 
II.     The  stationary  log  cutter  consists  of  a  knife  set  in  a  sash 
frame  removing  at  each  stroke  a  thin  slice  or  board. 

C.  Advantages  of  veneering. 

I.  There  is  little  or  no  loss  of  timber  for  kerf  and  sawdust. 
Valuable  logs  (for  furniture,  cigar  boxes)  are  invariably 
veneered  nowadays.  Logs  too  short  for  lumber  are  fit 
for  peeling. 
II.  Veneers  show  little  shrinkage  and  little  checking.  Hence 
they  allow  of  rapid  seasoning.  For  that  purpose,  the 
veneers  are  frequently  passed  between  heated  rollers. 
III.  The  rotary  machine  yields  very  large  veneers  often  en- 
tirely free  from  knots  which  are  merely  contained  in  the 
core  left  unpeeled. 

§  XX.       BOX    F.^CTORV. 

A.  Kinds   of  boxes. 

(a)  Planed  or  unplaned. 

(b)  Knocked   down   or   set   up. 

(c)  Nailed,  lock-cornered  or   dovetailed. 

B.  ATaterial. 

Wood   as   light    as   possible — readily   planed,    nailed   and    treated. 


82  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

The  best  is  white  pine;  next  are  spruce,  basswood,  poplar 
and,  more  recently,  yellow  pine,  hemlock,  gum,  cottonwood. 
Elm  and  sycamore  are  used  for  special  purposes. 

C.  Machinery. 

A  well  equipped  plant  contains  planers,  resaws,  rip  saws,  cut  off 
saws,  box  board  matchers  (which  tongue  and  groove  com- 
posite sides),  lock  corner  machine  (or  nailing  machine  or 
dovetailing  machine),  sand  paper  machine  and  printing  ma- 
chine (drum  pattern). 

D.  Business  side. 

The  skill  of  the  box  maker  is  shown  by  working  up,  without 
waste,  the  proper  proportions  of  widths  and  thicknesses. 
Careful  piling  of  lumber  in  the  yard,  separating  according  to 
width  and  thickness,  is  very  essential. 

The  interdependence  between  crop  prospects  and  box  prices  is 
easily  felt  by  the  box  makers. 

For  large  boxes  the  nailed  pattern  is  preferred,  being  the 
strongest.  Box  shook  fasteners  and  box  strapping  increase 
the  strength. 

Th*e  lock  cornered  box  is  preferred  for  starch,  plug  tobacco 
and  small  boxes.  Lock  cornered  boxes  are  required  either 
by  the  bad  qualities  of  the  lumber  or  by  the  quality  of  the 
stuff  packed.  Locked  corners  demand  gluing.  "Bevel  locked" 
corners  and  "inclined  locked"  corners  are  scarcely  used.  The 
dovetailed  box  does  not  require  gluing.  The  mechanical 
process  for  stamp  locked  corners  (dovetails  stamped  into 
thin  boards)    is  not  yet  perfected. 

E.  Expense  of  manufacture. 

I.  The  manufacture  of  i,oco  feet  of  lumber  into  shooks  in- 
volves a  bill  of  $4  for  labor  and  $i  for  wear  and  tear. 
II.  One  thousand  small  lock  cornered  boxes — 9x6x3  inches, 
J4  inch  thick  for  frame  and  3/16  inch  for  top  and  bot- 
tom— require  700  board  feet  of  lumber  worth  $8.50  in 
I  case  of  white  pine;  $5.10  for  labor;  $2.72  for  glue,  wear 
and  tear ;  $2.50  for  ten  packing  crates. 

§  XXI.       BASKETS. 

A.     Willow  baskets. 

They  are  hand  made,  mostly  from  cultivated  shoots  of  Salix 
viminalis,  amygdalina  and  caspica.  Shoots  1  to  2  years  old 
are  used,  being  cut  cither  in  fall  or  in  spring.  In  the  first 
case,  the  bundles  of  shoots  are  kept  in  water  over  winter.  The 
shoots  are  peeled  after  the  rising  of  the  sap  by  being  passed 
through  an  iron  or  wooden  fork;  then  rapidly  dried  to  retain 
the  white  color.  In  this  condition  the  material  may  be  stored 
away  for  years.  The  shoots  are  bathed  in  water  before  weav- 
ing to  restore  flexibility  and  toughness.  The  bottom  of  the 
basket   is   made  first,   and   then,   frequently   with   the  help  of  a 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  83 

model,  the  standards  or  uprights  of  the  wall  are  fixed.     The 

manufacture  has  been   introduced  into  New  Jersey  and   New 

York. 
.     Wooden  baskets. 

They   are    used   for   picking   and    transportation    of   bulky    farm 

produces.     Sizes  ^bushel  to  2  bushels. 
I.     The  hand  made  basket,  from  thin  strips  split  and  shaved 
from  basket  oak  and  white  oak  (sapwood). 

II.  The  Briggs  stave  basket  consists  of  radial  ribs  cut  from 
2^  inch  oak  planks;  cross  cut  into  lengths  varying  from 
I2§^  inch  for  K  bushel  to  18  inches  for  2  bushel  baskets. 
The  ribs  are  jointed  and  pointed  to  an  exact  fit  for  a 
round  center  plate  and  then  bent  over  a  model  form  hav- 
ing grooves  indicating  the  proper  position  for  each  rib 
and  for  the  strong  elm  hoop  clasped  around  the  rim. 
III.  The  common  wood  basket  is  made  of  straight  long  ribs 
up  to  l^i  inch  thick,  cut  on  a  rotary  veneer  machine.  No 
center  piece,  no  pointing  and  no  jointing  are  required. 
The  ribs  are  bent  over  a  model  form.  A  workman  is 
said  to  make  about  300  baskets  in  a  day. 

§  XXII.      C00PER.\GE. 

Terminology. 

I.     "Slack"    cooperage    turns    out    barrels    for    packing    lime, 
vegetables,    cement,    salt,    nails,    crockery,    sugar,    flour, 
etc. 
II.     "Tight"   cooperage  deals  with  barrels   for   liquids  and   for 
meat    (pork). 
Material  used: 

Any  species  may  be  used  for  slack  cooperage.     Alcoholic  liquors 
must  be  cased  in  white  oak   (Quercus  alba,  michauxii,  prinus, 
macrocarpa,  minor  etc.).     Red  oak  will  not  hold  whisky,  but 
is  used  for  other  staves,  flour  barrel,  heading,  sawn  and  coiled 
hoops. 
White  ash  is  used  for  pork  staves  and  butter  tubs. 
Elm  yields  the  best  coiled  hoops  and  the  best  slack  staves. 
Cottonwood  and  gum  are  cut  for  staves  on  a  large  scale. 
Chestnut   is   used   for  cheap   slack  barrel    hoops :   yellow   poplar 
for   tobacco   hogsheads;    basswood   for   flour  barrel   headings; 
beech  and  maple  for  sugar  barrels;    second  growth  of  hickory, 
birch   and   ash    for  hoops. 
For  buckets,  red  and  white  cedar ;   for  tanks,  cypress  and   red- 
wood are  preferred. 
Specifications  : 

I.     Flour  barrels  contain   196  pounds,  or  3.57  bushels,  or  32 
gallons  of  flour. 
The  diameter  of  the  head  is  17  inches ;    the  length  of  the 
staves  28  inches. 


84  FOREST    UTILIZAIION 

The    forms    preferred    in    slack    cooperage,    either    locally 
or  for  given  goods,  vary  to  such  a  degree  that  figures 
descriptive  of  the  forms  cannot  be  recorded. 
II.     The  "Tight  Coopers'  Union"  specifies: 

(a)  Whisky    barrel    staves — length    34    inches    to    35 

inches,  thickness  ^  inch,  width  4J4  inch  after 
jointing,   measured  across  bilge   on  the   outside. 

(b)  Wine    barrel    staves — length    34    inches,    thickness 

11/16  inch  after  drying  and  planing,  width  4^ 
inches. 

(c)  Oil,    tierce    and    pork    staves    have    similar   dimen- 

sions, allowing,  however,  of  sap,  one  or  two 
sound  worm  holes  and  knots  showing  on  one 
side  only. 

Variations  of  ^  inch  in  length  and  1/16  inch  in 
thickness  are  permitted  in  all  staves  (so  called 
equalized    staves). 

Pipes,  butts  and  puncheons  contain  over  100  gal- 
lons and  are  used  for  port,  rum    etc. 

A  hogshead  of  claret  is  46  gallons. 

D.  Statistical  notes: 

I.  One  thousand  feet  board  measure  in  logs — Doyle's  rule — 
yield  2,500  sawed  flour  staves,  3,200  veneered  staves, 
4.000  cut  hoops  or  3,000  sawn  hoops. 
II.  One  cord  of  bolts,  with  the  bark,  will  make  1,000.  or, 
without  bark,  1,200  slack  staves. 
III.  In  Tennessee,  eight  white  oaks  (of  over  18  inches  diam- 
eter) are  said  to  average  1,000  half  barrel  beer  staves. 

E.  Prices   and   their   tendency : 

Staves—  Apr.  1,  1901.        Feb.  10,  1904. 

No.  1,  flour    barrel,     per    1.000 $9.00  $11.00  to  $13.50 

No.  1.   Cottonwood,     per     1.00<^> 6.00  

No.  1,   ?um.    per   1,000 10,00  to    12.00 

Jlemphis   white  oak,   without   sap 26.00  44.00 

Heading — 

No.  1,  flour  barrel,    per   set 05%  .08  to        .08% 

No.  1,  gum,    per    set 04  .07%  to        .08 

Hoops — 

Coiled   elm   hoops,    per   1.000 7.O0  9.00  to    10.00 

Hickory   hoops,    per    1,000 6.00  6.25  to      6.75 

Barrels — 

Flour,    12   hlekor.T   hoop  barrel 41  .45  to        .48% 

Flour.   8  patent  hoop  barrel ,39  .46 

Flour  mugwump    (10  hickory   hoops) 39  .45 

Oil    (52   gallon)     1.45 

The   price    of   \vhite    oak   material    has    risen    rapidly   and    must 

continue  to   rise   indefinitely,    substitutes   for  white  oak  being 

impossible. 
In   slack   cooperage,   on   the  other  hand,   raw  material   continues 

to  be  plentiful,  and  new,  cheaper  forms  of  packages  enter  into 

daily  competition  with  the  barrel. 
The    cost   of   making   tierces    at    Chicago    is :      Staves    ($21    per 

1,000),   39  cents;   heading,   16   cents;   hoops,   20  cents;   wages, 

25  cents;  total,  $1. 


rOREST    ilJLiZAIJoX  S.S 

Manufacture    of    heading,    staves,    hoops    and    barrels. 
I.     Heading. 

Heading  for  tight  cooperage  is  sawn  from  split  bolts. 
These  bolts  are  obtained  in  the  woods  by  halving,  quar- 
tering and  splitting  (by  hand  and  always  with  the 
grain)  round  blocks  which  slightly  exceed  in  length 
the  diameter  of  the  heading.  The  heart  of  the  bolt  is 
not  removed.  The  bolts  are  wagoned  or  sledded  to  the 
heading  plant,  where  they  are  inspected,  sorted,  piled 
and  air  dried. 
Twenty-five  horsepower  are  said  to  be  required  at  a  head- 
ing plant.  The  output  at  a  "setting"  of  the  plant  aver- 
ages 200,000  sets  of  heading. 
The  tight  heading  plant  usually  contains  a  sawing  ma- 
chine, an  equalizer  and  jointer.     , 

(a)  The  heading  sawing  machine  consists  of  a  vertical 
circular  saw  (44  inches  diameter)  screwed  to 
the  arbor  without  a  loose  collar;  a  pendulum 
swing  with  "grate"  and  "dogs"  to  receive  the 
bolt ;  a  slide  guiding  the  swing ;  a  gauge,  ad- 
justed  by  screws;  a  separator  throwing  the 
sawed  slats  to  the  side.     Price  $300. 

(b)  The  equalizer  contains  a  tilting  table  or  a  carriage, 

which  is  forced  against  a  pair  of  circular  saws. 

(c)  The  jointer  edges  the  slats.    It  consists  of  a  strong 

wheel  carrying  on  its  side  4  to  6  straight  knives. 

The  w^heel  is  covered  by  a  hood.     Price  $140. 
For  tight  cooperage  the  joints  are  made  secure  by 
<  blind  wooden  nails  and  by  coopers'  flag  (Typha 

latifolia)   glued  into  the  joints. 
Two    more    machines    are    required    to    finish    the 

heading    prepared    by    the    apparatus    mentioned 

under  a,  b.  and  c,  viz. : 

(d)  The  heading  planer  carries  knives  16  inches  to  24 

inches  wide  and  has  a  capacity  of  8.500  headings 
a  day. 

(e)  The    heading   turner    cuts    the    heading    circularly 

and  carves  the  required  bevel  edge.  It  usually 
carries  a  concave  saw,  to  cut  through  the  boards, 
and  on  the  same  mandrel  a  small,  thick  circular 
saw  which  gives  the  Jbevel. 

The  heading,  held  in  clamps,  rotates  obliquely 
against  these  saws.  Price  $235.  Capacity  5.000 
a  day.    Heading  is  usually  kiln  dried. 

For  slack  heading,  quarter  sawing  is  usually  not 
reqifired.  Ordinary  lumber  can  be  used.  The 
slack  heading  plant  may  or  may  not  contain  all 
of  the  machines  enumerated  under  a,  b.  c,  d 
and  e. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

The  tight  heading  plant  of  the  woods  contains 
the  machines  a,  b  and  c,  while  the  machines  d 
and  e  are  usually  combined  with  the  cooper 
works,  unless  ihey  form  a  separate  establish- 
ment. 
II.     Staves. 

(a)  Staves  for  barrels  containing  the  more  valuable 
beverages  are  hand  made  (rived  staves).  The 
riving  of  staves  wastes  timber.  Proper  bilge  and 
curvature  are  obtained  either  by  hewing  (Ger- 
many)  or  in  the  finishing  plant   (America). 

The  white  oak  timber  used  must  come  from 
straight  trees  of  over  i8  inches  diameter.  Such 
trees  are  found  in  clumps  only,  Hence  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  portable  finishing  plant,  using  from 
15  to  35  horsepower.  At  each  set  or  site — now 
usually  IS  miles  from  the  railroad — at  least  100,- 
000  staves  are  manufactured.  Six  hundred  rough 
staves  have  the  weight  of  1,000  finished  staves. 
Hence  it  is  wise  to  bring  the  plant  close  to  the 
timber. 

The  felled  tree  is  sawed  (by  hand)  into  blocks 
of  two  inches  more  than  stave  length,  which 
are  placed  on  their  larger  ends.  Then  the 
sap  line  is  demarked  with  a  pencil,  and  inside 
the  sap  line,  with  the  help  of  a  pattern  showing 
the  cross  section  of  a  stave,  as  many  staves  are 
pencil-marked    as    possible. 

By  axe,  wedges  and  wooden  mauls  the  block  is 
then  halved  and  quartered  (and  rehalved  and 
requartered  in  case  of  heavy  blocks),  the  clefts 
following  the  pencil  marks.  The  sectors  are 
then  split,  along  the  annual  rings,  into  rough 
staves — always  following  the  pencil  marks. 

The  core  of  at  least  four  inches  diameter,  con- 
taining  the    small    limb-stubs,    is    thrown    away. 

The  rough  staves  are  inspected  and  sorted  and 
piled  hogpen-fashion  for  air  drying,  either  be- 
fore or  after  sledding  or  wagoning  to  the  fin- 
ishing plant.  It  might  be  added  here  that  this 
finishing  plant  is — contrary  to  expectation — never 
combined  with  a  heading  plant, 
(b)  The  "stave  bucker,"  by  whfch  three-fourths  of  all 
rived  staves  made  in  the  United  States  are  re- 
fined, dresses  and  planes  both  sides  of  the  staves 
to  proper  curvature  and  bilge.  A  rack  forces  the 
rough  staves  through  the  narrow  passage  left  be- 
tween   two   knives    (either    straight    knives,    or 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  87 

curved  to  correspond  with  the  periphery  of  the 
finished  barrel)  which  are  fastened  in  a  rocking 
frame. 

(c)  The  "stave  dresser"  frequently  takes  the  place  of 

the  backer.  It  carries  knives  on  two  cutter- 
heads,  dressing  and  hollowing  the  stave  on  both 
sides  to  proper  thickness  and  leaving  either  an 
abrupt  or  a  gradual  shoulder 

(d)  The   stave   saw  yields  staves  of  equal   form,  but 

greater  permeability,  more  economically  than 
the  hand.  Stave  bolts  must  have  the  following 
minimum  dimensions :  thickness  with  grain  5 
inches;  width  close  to  heart  3  inches. 

The  bolts  are  barked  and  hearted  in  the  woods, 
being  split  from  logs  having  at  least  a  diameter 
of   15  inches   inside  the  bark. 

The    stave    saw    consists    of: 

1.  A  hollow  steel  cylinder,  having  the  diam- 

eter of  the  barrels  to  be  made  and  car- 
rying saw  teeth  at  one  end. 

2.  A   carriage    with   clamps   passing  the   saw 

cylinder. 

3.  A   stave  holder   running  into  the   cylinder 

and  removing  the  sawed  staves.     Capac- 
ity 12,000  staves  per  day. 

(e)  In  slack  cooperage,  a  stave  cutter  is  often  used, 

consisting  of  a  circle  (20  inches  for  fruit  bar- 
rels) with  one  knife  attached,  making  150  revolu- 
tions per  minute.  The  stave  bolts  are  steamed 
beforehand.  The  knife  separates  at  each  revo- 
lution of  the  circle,  or  by  each  single  stroke, 
a  stave  from  the  bolt. 
Capacity  140,000  per  day.  Price  $130.  Horse"^ 
power,  4. 

(f)  The   rotary   veneer  machine   is  now   also    used   to 

cut  4  inch  or  4^  inch  gum  staves. 

(g)  The  stave  equalizer  trims  the  ends  and  gives  the 

staves   the    proper    length.      It    consists    of   two 
circular  saws  and  a  tilting  bed  or  a  carriage, 
(h)      Stave  listers  or  jointers  edge   the   staves  in   such 
a    way    that    the    edges    coincide    with    a    plane 
through  the  axis  of  the  barrel. 

Staves  for  export  are  straight  listed  and  without 
bilge. 

The  stave  jointer  is  either  a  circular  swing  savir 
or  it  consists  of  two  circular  saws ;  or  of  a 
number  of  inclined  knives  held  by  cutterheads; 
or  of  one  knife  running  in  a  sash  frame:  nr  it 
resembles    a    heading    jointer    (starjointer). 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

(i)  In  the  "stave  planer,"  a  steel  pattern  passing 
through  the  machine  with  the  stave  lifts  the 
cutters  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  the  shoulders 
of  the  staves  to  retain  a  greater  thickness  than 
the   middle   of   the   staves. 

III.  Hoops. 

In  tight  cooperage,  steel  or  iron  hoops  are  used,  driven 
over  the  barrel  by  hoop  drivers  or  trussing  machines 
and  sometimes   fastened  by  hoop  fasteners. 

In  slack  cooperage,  wooden  hoops  are  still  preferred  and 
wire  hoops  are  only  occasionally  used.  Wooden  hoops 
are  either  hand  made,  especially  the  long  white  oak 
hoops  used  on  tobacco  hogsheads,  or  sawed  from 
plank  by  a  hoop  machine,  or  finally  knife-cut  on  a 
rotary  machine  or  a  sash  frame  machine. 

A  machine  by  which  sawed  hoops  are  obtained  directly 
from  logs  does  not  seem  to  be  much  used.  By  special 
machinery  hoops  are  planed,  pointed,  lapped  and 
punched. 

A  hoop  coiler  rolls  the  hoops  into  bundles ;  usually  the 
outfit  of  a  "sawed  hoop"  plant  consists  of  a  saw  bench, 
a  saw  machine  and  a  coiler. 

IV.  Barrels. 

Putting  up  a  barrel  requires : 

(a)  Heating,  in  order  to  increase  the  flexibility  of  the 

staves  held  together  by  an  iron  form  and  by  one 
or  two  hoops. 

(b)  Bending    in    an    apparatus     consisting     of     screw 

and    rope,    windlass    and    rope,    or    of    a    funnel 
press. 

(c)  Crozing,   i.   e.,   making  a  groove   for  the'  insertion 

of  the  heading,  either  by  a  hand  planer  or  by 
a  power  groover. 
The  finished  barrel  is  automatically  planed  on  the 
outside ;  if  it  does  not  assume  the  exact  form 
of  a  doubly  truncated  parabolloid,  it  is  pressed 
into  shape  by  a  barrel  leveler. 

§  XXIII.      WAGON    WORKS. 

The  raw   material   must  be  tough  and  strong  and,   above  all,   air 

dry.     The   dry  kiln  often   follows   after  two   or  three  years   of 

air  drying. 
Second  growth  of  black  or  shell  bark  hickory  is  used  for  tongues, 

shafts,  spokes,  rims,  axles,  neck  yokes,  whiffletrees  and  eveners. 
White    oak    or    burr    oak    is    used    for    spokes,    tongues,    bolsters, 

hounds,  reaches  and  axles. 
Black  birch,  rock  elm,  white  oak  and  locust  are  used  for  hubs. 
Wagon  beds  are  made  of  yellow  poplar,   pines,   cottonwoods,   the 

composing    boards    being    either    ship    lapped    or    tongued    and 

grooved. 


FOREST    UTILIZATIOX  89 

White    ash,    bending  easiest   and   best   of  all    woods,   is   used    for 

rims,  bent  seats,  bent  bows,  shafts  etc. 
The  manufacturing  machinery  is  usually  supplied  by  the  Defiance 
Machine  Works,  Defiance,   Ohic>. 

I.  Hubs  are  cut  direct  from  log  to  proper  length  by  double 
equalizing  saws  and  are  turned  on  outside  automatically 
on  a  lathe;  bored  for  boxes  (thimbles)  ;  chisel  mortised 
for  spokes;  and  set  with  two  to  four  iron  rings. 
II.  Spokes  are  obtained  from  bolts  by  rip  sawing  into  squares 
which  are  .turned  on  a  lathe ;  tenoned  at  the  big  end ; 
equalized  in  length;  sandpapered  and  polished;  and 
driven  into  hubs  by  automatic  hammers. 

III.  Rims  and  felloes  are  either  bent  to  proper  form  or  sawn 

from  straight  bolts.  In  the  first  case,  the  bolts  are 
steamed  or  boiled;  then  bent  and  pressed  in  an  iron 
pattern  when  hot ;  then  cased  up  and  dried ;  then  bored 
to  receive  the  spokes ;  rounded  on  the  inside  with  a 
slight  elevation  left  around  the  hole;  planed  and  finally 
sandpaper  polished. 
Very  wide  plank  is  required  for  sawn  felloes,  which  are 
obtained  either  by  a  set  of  concave  saws,  having  the 
required  curvature,  or  by  a  narrow  band  or  scroll 
saw  which  follows  the  pencil  marks  of  a  pattern  made 
for   each   piece   on  the   plank. 

IV.  Axles  are  turned  on  a  lathe  according  to  a  steel  pattern 

spanned    in    the   lathe;    are   gained   to    receive    bolsters 
and  hounds;  and  have  the  thimble  skeins  driven  on  by 
hydraulic  pressure. 
V.     Shafts    and    poles    are    sawn    from    plank    i^    inch    to 
2^  inch  thick  and  S^^  to  12  feet  long;  are  heated  and 
bent,  cased,  dried,   rounded  and  belt  polished. 
Few  establishments  make  entire  wagons.     Usually  shafts,  spokes, 
rims,    axles   etc.    are    made     in    factories   close    to    the     woods, 
while  other  factories  clos.er  to  the  cities  or  to  railroad  centers 
put  the  wagons  together  after  buying  their  component  parts. 

§  XXrV.       SHIKGLE    MILLS. 

Material. 

Breasted,  shaved,   rived  or   rifted  shingles    (meaning  hand  made) 
are  used  in  the  backwoods  only.     At  Biltmore,  shaved  shingles 
made  of  chestnut  cost  $2  per  M.,  while  so  called  boards,  two 
feet  long  and  six  inches  wide,  split  from  white  oak,  cost  $3  per  M. 
Shaved  shingles  cannot  be  laid  so  neatly  as. sawn  shingles. 
Por  machine  made  shingles  are  used : 
On  the  Pacific  coast,  red  cedar; 
In  the  Lake   States,   white  pine,   white   cedar,    spruce,   nnrway 

pine  and  hemlock; 
In  the  South,  cypress,  longleaf  pine  and  shortleaf  pine. 


90  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

B.  Durability. 

The  durability  is  said  to   be   for: 
White  pine  rived,  20  to  35  years. 
White  pine  sawn,   16  to  22  years. 
White  pine  (sappy)   sawn,  4  to  17  years. 
Chestnut  rived,  20  to  25  years. 
Cedar  sawn,   12  to  18  years. 
Spruce  sawn,  7  to  11  years. 

C.  Specifications. 

The  usual  size  of  sawn  shingles  is:  16  inches  or  18  inches  long; 
4  inches  wide;  1-16  inch  thick  at  small  end;  Yi  inch  thick  at 
butt  end.  A  bundle  of  shingles  contains  250  pieces,  is  20  inches 
long  and  has  24  tiers. 

A  carload  of  white  pine  shingles,  weighing  22,000  pounds,  contains 
70,000  16-inch  shingles;  a  large  car  of  red  cedar  shingles  con- 
tains 170,000  pieces. 

One  thousand  shingles  cover  100  square  feet  of  roof,  each  show- 
ing 14.4  square  inches  to  the  weather. 

A  rule  for  the  number  of  shingles  required  for  a  roof  is :  ascertain 
number  of  square  inches  in  one  side  of  roof;  cut  off  the  last 
figure,  and  the  result  is  the  number  of  shingles  required  for 
both  sides  of  the  roof.  In  this  case,  each  shingle  shows  20 
square   inches  to  the  weather. 

Shingles  are  usually  laid  to  show  4  inches  of  their  length,  which 
arrangement  yields,  in  16-inch  shingles,  a  quadruple  layer  of 
shingles  on  the  roof.  The  higher  the  grade  of  the  shingles,  the 
larger  is  the  weather  face  permissible. 

D.  Machinery. 

The  machinery  used  in  a  shingle  plant  consists  of : 

L  Drag  saw,  either  driven  from  a  countershaft  or  acting 
directly  from  the  piston,  cutting  the  logs  into  shingle 
lengths. 
II.  Bolter,  a  circular  saw  cutting  the  round  blocks  into  bolts, 
the  thickness  of  which  equals  the  width  of  the  shingle. 
Bolts  split  with  an  axe  yield  a  better  grade  of  shingles 
but  cause  a  large  waste  of  timber.  A  knot  saw  may 
be  used  after  bolting  to  remove  knots,  rot,  sap  etc. 
III.     Shingle  machine,  constructed  in  a  variety  of  forms: 

(a)  A  knife    is   spanned   in   a   sash   frame   moving   up 

and  down  and  severing  a  shingle  at  each  stroke 
from  steamed  bolts.  This  system,  furnishing 
"cut  shingles,"  is  not  much  used. 

(b)  The    shingle    saw    machine    uses    a    circular    saw 

lacking  the  loose   collar    and   screwed   onto   the 
fast    collar.      The    gauge    at    the    center   of   the 
saw  may  be  very  heavy  while  the  gauge  at  the 
rim  is  from  15  to  20  only. 
The  shingle  blocks  are  fastened  into  either  a  slid- 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  91 

ing 'frame  or  a  rotating  frame  and  are  tilted  con- 
tinuously, so  as  to  alternate  e,dge  and  butt  cuts. 
The   sliding   frame    is    eithc        ^.d    fed   or  power 
fed.     A  machine  takes  frof.i  one  to  ten  blocks 
at  a  time. 
IV.     The  jointer  is  meant  to  give  a  rectangular  shape  to  the 
shingle.     It  is  either  a  single  or  a  double  rip  saw  (two 
saws  4  inches  apart)  or  a  wheel  jointer  consisting  of  a 
steel  wheel  carrying,  close  to  the  circumference,  4  to  8 
knives   radially  or   almost   radially    set  and  of  a   hood 
covering  the   machine  and  connected   with  a  blowpipe 
to  remove  shavings.     The  shingles  are  placed  opposite 
an  opening  in  the  hood  and  pressed  by   hand  against 
the  knives,  which  make  about  500  to  800  revolutions  per 
minute. 
V.     The  shingle  packer,  used  for  16  inch  and  18  inch  shingles, 
consists   of   a  bench  and  two   slotted  and  overhanging 
steel   rods.     The  attendant  pressing  the  rods  down  by 
hand  or  foot  packs  the  shingles  tightly  with  their  fine 
ends  overlapping. 
VI.     Shingle    planers,    fancy    butt    shapers    and    dry    kilns    are 
found  in  up  to  date  plants.     After  dry  kilning,  bundles 
require  tightening-  up. 

§  XXV.      LATH    MILL. 

The  usual  length  of  laths  is  4  feet;  the  weight  per  i.ooo  is  500  pounds. 

One  thousand  laths  cover  70  square  yards,  and  a  cord  of  slabs  yields 
3,000  laths. 

All  softwoods,  further  yellow  poplar,  cotlonwood  and  linden  form 
the  raw  material  for  lath. 

The  machinery  used  consists  of: 

A.  Slab  resaw,  by  which  the  last  board  is  cut  out  of  the  slab.     It 

contains  a  circular  saw  and  feed  works  pressing  the  slab  in  to 
the  saw. 

B.  Lath  bolter,  consisting  of  a  single  or  double  cutoff. 

C.  Lath  machine,  which  is  either  an  ordinary  rip  saw  having  up  to 

six  small  circular  saws  and  an  automatic  feed,  or  a  cutter- 
head  and  knife  machine.  The  latter  machine  makes  the  so 
called   "grooved"  lath. 

D.  Lath  bundling  machine,  which  presses  the  laths  together  by  a 

foot  or  hand  lever  and  facilitates  binding. 

§  XXVL      CLAPBOARD     MILL. 

The  cross  section  of  clapboards  is  either  square  or.  more  usually, 
beveled,  with  the  big  edge  from  Va  inch  to  ^  inch  thick. 

They  are  manufactured  either  from  boards  i  inch, thick  fed  through 
a  resaw,  the  feed  rolls  of  which  are  inclined  toward  the  saw,  or 
by  special  clapboard  machinery  directly  from  the  log.  Logs,  in  the  latter 
case,  are  cut  in  pieces  of  proper  lengths  (4  feet  to  6  feet)  by  a  drag  saw; 


92  FOREST    UTILIZATIOy 

are  turned  on  a  lathe  and  then  spanned  into  a  sliding  frame  (between 
pins).  Frame  siq^  log  pass  a  circular  saw  with  and  not  against  the 
rotation  of  the  sav,"ne  ^fter  passing,  the  log  is  automatically  turned  by  an 
angle  corresponding 'with  the  bevel  of  the  clapboard. 

This  process  leaves  a   four  inch  core  unused. 

A  planer,  molder  or  jointer  dresses  the  sides  and  a  butter  or  trimmer 
dresses  the  ends. 

§  XXVII.       NOVELTY    MILL. 

Novelty  mills  have  sprung  up,  in  recent  years,  all  over  the  Northeast, 
manufacturing  trays,  wooden  dishes,  wooden  wire,  rules,  pen-holders, 
<flasks,  skewers,  toys  and  thousands  of  playthings  of  the  hour. 

The  variety  of  the  raw  material  used  is  as  great  as  the  variety  of  the 
goods  manufactured.  Still,  birch  seems  to  be  the  acknowledged  leader 
for  novelty  makes. 

Wooden  dishes'  and  wooden  wire  may  deserve  particular  mention. 

A.  Wooden  dishes. 

I.  Material. 

Yellow  poplar  is  used  for  large  wooden  trays.  Second 
growth  white  pine  (cuts  taken  between  whirls)  is 
said  to  be  used  in  New  England.  Maple  is  preferred 
for  small  oval  wood  dishes,  turned  out  by  a  special 
machine  automatically. 

II.  Manufacture  of  oval   dishes. 

These  oval  dishes  are  obtained  from  sawn  blocks,  scal- 
ing from  6  inches  by  8  inches  to  7^  inches  by  9^ 
inches. 

The  dishes  are  cut  with  the  grain  from  the  side  face. 
Blocks  are  thoroughly  boiled.  The  cutting  knife, 
revolving  circularly,  makes  25  dishes  to  the  inch  and 
75.000  per  day. 

Two  facing  knives  shave  the  block  clean  between  every 
two  cuts,  carving  out  true  edges. 

A  screw  fed  carriage  automatically  feeds  the  block  into 
the  knives.  No  skilled  labor  is  required.  The  attend- 
ant merely  removes  the  remnants  of  a  spanned  block 
and  places  a  new  block  in  the  carriage. 

B.  Wooden  wire. 

Wooden    wire    is    used    for    mattings,    screens,    inner    rack    of 

ladies'  hats  etc. 
The    raw    material    consists    of    willow,    basswood    and    poplar 

plank. 
A  series  of  planing  knives,  in  the   form  of  sharp   rimmed,   fine 

steel    cylinders,    plies    in    a    sliding    frame    over   the    plank, 

severing  at  each  stroke  a  series  of  wires  having  the  length 

of  the  plank. 
A  straight  planer  knife  follows  in  the  wake  of  the  fine  cylinders, 

removing  the  irregularities  left  on  the  plank. 


fOKEST    LTILIZATIOX  93 


MATCHES     AND     THEIK     MANUFACTURE. 


Wooden  matches  are  either  round  or  square. 

A^    Round  matches  are  made  on  a  machine  resembling  the  wooden 
wire  machine  described  in  Section  XXVII. 

B.  Square  matches  are  made  from  blocks  i6  inches  to  24  inches 

long  which,  after  steaming  or  boiling,  are  peeled  on  a  rotary 
veneer  machine  into  layers  having  the  thickness  of  a  match. 
I.     The  veneers  are  automatically  clipped  into  sheets  having 
a  length  of  6  feet  and  width  equaling  5  to   12  match 
lengths.     These  sheets  are  heaped  up  in  packs  contain- 
ing so  to  60  tiers. 

II.  A    knife    system,    with    vertical    spur-knives,    plays    in    a 

vertical   sash   and   cuts   from   each   tier,   at  each   stroke, 
5  to  12  matches.     The  pack,  after  each  stroke,  is  moved 
forward   the   thickness   of  a  match.     The   machine   has 
a  daily  capacity  of  25,000,000  matches. 
III.     The  matches  are  then   dried  and  cleaned  by   sifting. 

C.  The    treatment    thereafter    is    identical    for    round    and    square 

matches,   consisting   of  the    following   operations : 

I.  Causing  the  match   pegs   to   lie  parallel,   by   rocking   them 

in  an  oscillating  drawer. 
II.     Fixing  about  2,250  matches  at  a  time  in  a  clasp  or  frame. 

III.  Dipping  the  clasp   (for  fine  matches)   wholly  into  parafiine 

and  the  tips  thereafter  into  a  chemical  compound 
(mastic)  which  forms  the  inflammable  head.  The 
mastic  consists  of  one  or  more  oxidizing  substances 
(chlorate  or  bichromate  of  potash),  often  mixed  with 
a  particle  of  some  explosive,  so  as  to  allow  of  ignition 
by  friction  on  any  rough  surface. 

D.  The    raw    material    for   matches    is   derived   from    cottonwoods, 

linden,    sapwood    of    yellow    poplar,    white    pine,    spruce.      A 
white,   soft   and   long  fibre   is   required. 

§  XXIX.       SHOE    PEGS    AND    THEIR    MANUFACTURE. 

A.  Wooden  shoe  pegs   are  used  to  fix  the  "uppers"'   to  the   shoe  sole 

and  to  construct  the  heel.     The  pegs  arc  automatically  fed  from 

a  pegging  machine. 
Pegs  are  ji  inch  to  %  inch  long,  square  with  a  prismatic  head. 
The  raw  material   consists  of  birch  and   hard  maple. 

B.  Manufacture. 

I.     The  blocks   arc   cut   into   discs,   ys   to   H    inch   thick,  by  a 
circular   saw. 

II.  The  discs  are  pointed  in  a  pointing  machine,  which  plows 

parallel  grooves,  lengthwise  and  crosswise,  into  the  discs. 
The  distance  between  two  furrows  equals  the  width  of  the 
peg- 


94  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

III.  The  splitting  machine  severs,  by  the  gradual  strokes  cf  a 

knife  (first  stroke  down  to  J/2,  second  stroke  down  to 
^  of  thickness  of  disc),  the  disc  into  strips  of  pegs  and, 
playing  crosswise,  into  individual  pegs.  After  each 
stroke  of  the  knife  the  disc  is  moved  toward  it  by  the 
width  of  one  furrow.  During  the  operation  the  disc 
is   held  in  a   leather   frame. 

IV.  The  wet,  red  pegs  are  then  bleached  by  applying  sulphuric 

acid;  then  dried  in  heated  drums;  then  cleaned  from 
splinters   and   irregularities  by   sifting. 

§  XXX.       EXCELSIOR     MILL. 

A.  Grades  of  product. 

First  Grade — Fine  wood  wool,  thickness   from   1/500  inch   to 

1/64  inch. 
Second  Grade — Common  fine  wood  wool. 
Third  Grade — Mattress  stock. 

The   greatest  demand    is    for   stock    i/ioo  inch  thick   and 
from  1/32  to  1/8  inch  wide. 

B.  Usage.     Excelsior  is  used  for  upholstering  and  for  packing  (glass- 

ware,   furniture,    confectionery    etc.).     It   is   preferred  to   straw 
owing  to  its  greater  elasticity  and  to  its  lack  of  dust.    It  is  easily 
colored.     A  limited  amount  of  excelsior  is  woven  into  mattings 
and  rugs. 
C     Kinds  of  wood. 

Basswood  is  best ;  balm  of  gilead,  cottonwood  and  yellow  poplar 
come  next.  Pine  and  spruce  also  are  used.  One  cord  of  wood 
will  yield  1,500  pounds  of  excelsior. 

D.  Process  of  preparation. 

The  wood  is  peeled,  cut  into  38-inch  blocks,  and  the  blocks  split 
into  slabs  5  inches  to  6  inches  thick.  These  slabs  are  thoroughly 
air  seasoned  under  cover,  and  finally  cut  into  two  lengths  of 
18  inches  each. 

Frequently  the  core  of  blocks  peeled  ou  the  rotary  veneer  machine 
is  used  for  excelsior. 

E.  Machinery. 

Excelsior   machines   are    small,    upright    knife    machines,    or    carry 
the  knives  on  a  disc  set  in  rapid  rotation.     The  modern  machine, 
however,  is  an  eight  block  horizontal  machine  consisting  of: 
I.     Two   sliding  steel   frames   carrying  eight  tool  heads  into 
which  the  knives  and  the  comb-like  spurs  are  spanned. 
The  sliding  frames  are  moved  by  powerful  cranks  and 
pitmans  on  maple  slides. 
II.     Two    stationary    frames,    above    the    sliding   frames,    each 
having  four  sets  of  rolls,  each  set  pressing  a  block  by 
its  rotation  downward  against  the  knives. 
III.     The  shavings,  falling  through  the  sliding  frame,  are  car- 
ried out  by  broad  belts. 


fORESr    UIILiZAlION  95 

IV.     The    daily   capacity    of   an   eight   block    machine    is   4,000 

pounds  of  fine  wood  wool,  or  10,000  pounds  of  mattress 

stock. 
V.     Additional  machinery  consists  of  automatic  knife  grinders, 

baling  presses,  cut  oflf  saws  etc. 
VI.     The  price  of  the  machinery  for  a  modern  plant  is  about 

$2,000.     About  30  horsepower  are  required. 

XXXI.      GROUND  WOOD  PULP  AND  CHEMICAL  FIBRE  AND  THEIR  MANUFACTURE. 

A.  Historical  remarks. 

Up  to  1854  paper  was  made   from  cotton,  linen  and  hemp  fibre, 

precipitated  from  a  mush  in  the  shape  of  a  matting. 
Wood  grinding  was  invented  in  1854.     Since  1867  the  ground  wood 

is     refined    by    chemical    processes    which    separate    the    wood 

into    thinner    strings    of    cells    and    free    it    from    rosin,    tannin, 

albumen,  gums   etc. 
In    the    United    States    there    were,    in    1890,    82    mills    producing 

$4,600,000  worth  of  wood  paper,  while  the  value  of  the  output  in 

1900  approximated  $20,000,000. 
Rags,   manila,    straw   and   waste   paper   used   as   raw  material    for 

paper   still   outrank   in   value    (in    1900)    the   wood    used   as   raw 

material. 
In    1900,   close  to  2,000,000  cords  of  wood  were  consumed,    worth 

nearly    $10,000,000;    three-fourths   being    spruce    and    one-fourth 

poplar  and  miscellaneous. 
If  the  United  States  shall  conquer  the  Swedish  and  German  export 

and    supply    the    entire    consumption    of   wood    paper    at    home, 

6,000,000  acres  of  well  managed  wood  lands  will  be  required  to 

produce  the  raw  material. 

B.  Statistical   remarks. 

One  cord  of  wood  yields  one  ton  of  ground  pulp  wood  (mechanical 

fibre)  or  J-'2  ton  of  chemical  fibre.     In  the  so  called  "news  grade" 

80%  of  pulp  is  mixed  with  20%  of  chemical  fibre. 
Japanese   paper    is   made   of   the    inner   bark   of   a    mulberry    tree 

(Brussonetia). 
For  highest  grades  of  writing  paper,  cotton  and  linen  are  used. 
An  average  mill   produces  25  tons   a   day. 
A  modern   pulp  plant   requires   annually,   at  least,  6,000   cords   of 

wood ;  a  modern  fibre  plant  at  least  25,000  cords. 
The  price  of  the  product  loco  factory  is  about: 

For  ground  wood  pulp,  $13  per  cord; 

For  soda  fibre,  $20  per  cord; 

For  sulphite  fibre,  $25  per  cord. 

C.  The  plant. 

The  plant  requires  an  outlay  of  about  $10,000  per  ton  of  daily 
production.  Unlike  a  saw  mill,  a  paper  mill  cannot  be  shifted 
when  the  nearby  supply  of  raw  material  is  exhausted. 


96  fUREST    UTILIZATION 

A  plant  must  be  located: 

I.     Close  to  water;   water   is   not  so  much   used   for  motive 
power  as  for  the  dissolution  of  the  fibre  in  the  washing 
process. 
II.     Close  to  cheap  wood  supply;  wood  must  be  plentiful  and 
uniform,  of  a  long,  straight  fibre,  readily  interlacing  and 
white.      Spruce   is   considered   best,   the  price   at    river 
fronts  being  about  $3.50  per  cord  and  at  mill  from  $4- 50 
to  $5.50.     Cottonwoods  and  poplar  are  next  in  impor- 
tance.    Price  at  river  fronts  $2.     Hemlock  and  balsam 
are  mixed  with  spruce  in  a  daily  growing  proportion. 
Birch,  beech  and  maple  can  be  used  only  for  wrapping 
■  paper  and  cardboard,  the  fibre  being  short,  brittle  and 
unbleachable. 
The    use   of  pine    is    handicapped   by    the    expense    of   the 

removal  of  the  rosin. 
The    Pacific   spruces    and   cottonwoods   may   have   a   great 
future. 
III.     Qose  to  cheap  coal,  since  the  coal  consumption  per  pound 
of  paper  amounts  to  5/16  of  a  pound  of  coal.     So  much 
coal  is  required  for  heating,  drying  and  bleaching,  that 
all  excepting  15%  of  the  machinery  can  be  driven  free 
of  charge. 
D.     Process  of  manufacture. 

The  manufacture  is  either  purely  mechanical  (ground  wood  pulp) 
or  also  chemical.  In  the  latter  case,  distinguish  between  the 
soda  process,  the  sulphite  process  and  the  sulphate  process. 
The  electric  process,  though  very  promising,  is  still  in  early 
infancy. 
The   principle   of  manufacture   is.: 

Grinding  and  beating  of  wood  in  water  until  it  forms  a  fluid  pulp ; 
allowing  water  to  run  off  leaving  a  matted  stratum  of  wet  fibre ; 
bleaching  ;  drying  ;  pressing. 
I.     Ground  wood  fibre. 

(a)  The  wood  is  cut  into  bolts  one  foot  long  and  five 

inches  thick.  The  bark  is  removed,  and  the 
knots  are  usually  bored  out. 

(b)  The   bolts   are   pressed   against    stone   mill-wheels 

which  turn  slowly  under  constant  influx  of 
water.  Bolts  must  be  ground  in  the  direction  of 
the  fibre. 

(c)  The  fluid  pulp  is  carried  through  sieves  retaining 

the  long  splinters,  which  are  transferred  to  a 
pulp  engine   for  mechanical   refining. 

(d)  The  fibre  is  ground  a  second  time  both  in  stamp- 

ers and  rotary  mills. 

(e)  The    fluid    is    separated    according    to    fineness    by 

sieves  of  different  mesh  which  allow  the  water 
to   run   off.      The   filtered   mass   is   taken   up   by 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  97 

endless  belts  of  cloth  which  carry  it  as  a  thin 
matting  through  a  series  of  heated  rolls, 
(f)  The  mattings  are  dried  by  superheated  steam,  by 
pressure  or  in  the  air.  Pulp  is  shipped  in  rolls 
about  3  feet  long  and  i^^  feet  in  diameter.  It  is 
not  paper  but  merely  the  leading  raw  material 
for  ordinary  paper. 
II.     Soda  process. 

This  process  consists  of: 

(a)  Sawing  wood  into  discs  about  i  inch  thick. 

(b)  Grinding  and  dissecting  the  discs  into  fragments 

about  1/24  inch  by  i  inch  in  size. 

(c)  Packing  the  material   into  perforated   iron   boxes 

which  are  placed  in  digesters  containing  a  solu- 
tion of  caustic  soda. 

(d)  Boiling  the  wood  for  four  hours  under  a  pressure 

of  125  pounds. 

(e)  Grinding   between   stones. 

(f)  Repeated  washing  and  sifting. 

(g)  Bleaching  with  chlorate  of  lime  and  washing. 
(h)     Taking  up  mass  by  endless  rolls  of  cloth  and  dry- 
ing it  between  heated  rollers. 

(i)     Reclaiming  caustic  soda  by  boiling  and  melting. 
III.     Sulphite  process. 

Same    as    the    soda    process,    excepting     points     "c,"     "d" 

and  "g." 
The    wood    fibre   is    first   cooked    without    chemicals   and 

then  boiled  for  60  hours  with  calcium  sulphite— a  cheap 

chemical  usually  prepared  at  the  mill  itself. 
No    or   only   little   bleaching   is   required,    the   fibre   being 

free  from  color  when  leaving  the  digestor. 
The  expense  of  manufacture  per  ton  of  sulphite  fibre  is 

said  to  be  as  follows : 

Two  tons  of  spruce $  poo 

Coal    300 

Sulphur    --Q 

Lime  70 

Labor  inclusive  of  office  force 7.00 

Wear  and  tear  


2.50 


Total 


$25.50 

These  figures  may  seem  to  be  unusually  high. 

The  sulphite  process  offers  the  following  advantages: 

(a)  It  is  cheaper  (no  bleaching,  cheap  chemicals). 

(b)  It  does  not  interfere  with  the  strength  of  the  fibre. 

(c)  It  yields  a  larger  output  of  fibre  per  cord. 
Hence  the  sulphite  process  is  rapidly  superseding 

the  soda  process.    Exception  in  poplar. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

IV.     Sulphate  process. 

It  is  adopted  in  mills  originally  arranged  for  caustic  soda 
process.  The  chemical  used  is  sodium  sulphate,  the 
price  of  which  is  only  one-third  that  of  caustic  soda.  It 
is  reclaimed  out  of  its  watery  solution  by  evaporating 
and  melting.  This  process  gives  the  old  soda  mills  a  new 
lease  of  life  which  were  about  to  be  forced  to  the  wall 
by  the  superiority  of  the  sulphite  process. 
V.     Electric  process. 

The  electric  current  is  used  to  obtain  from  an  8%  solu- 
tion of  common  salt  (Na  Ci)  its  composing  parts, 
viz.,  caustic  soda  and  hydrochloric  acid. 

These  substances,  alternatingly  acting  upon  the  wood  pre- 
pared in  the  manner  described  under  II,  a,  b,  and  c,  dis- 
solve the  lignin  and  destroy  the  incrustations  of  the 
fibre,  so  that  pure  cellulose  remains  in  the  digestors. 

Two  digestors  are  used,  connected  with  the  positive  and 
the  negative  electrode  of  the  current  respectively. 

The  process  is  said  to  be  faster  and  cheaper  than  the 
sulphite  process.     No  bleaching  required. 

§  XXXir.       TANNING    MATERI.\LS    AND    TANNERIES. 

A.  Tanning  materials. 

Tanning  materials  used  in  the  United  States  were  in  1900: 

Hemlock  bark,  1,170,000  cords. 

Oak,  445,000  cords. 

Gambier,  128,000  bales. 

Hemlock  bark  extract,  13,000  barrels. 

Oak  bark  extract,  54,000  barrels. 

Quebracho  bark  extract,  20,000  barrels. 

Sumac  bark  extract,  8,500  barrels. 

Chemicals,   $2,225,000   worth. 
In   the    sole  leather,    belt   leather   and   harness   leather   industries, 

vegetable  tanning  material  is  still  preferred.     Mineral  or  chem- 
ical tannage,   however,  has  been   developed   during  the   last  ten 

years    to    a    degree    threatening    to    entirely    supplant    the    old 

methods. 
Since    1900,    extracts    obtained    from    chestnut    wood    have    gained 

both  favor  and  importance. 

B.  Tanbark  in  particular. 

I.     Notes  on  tanbark. 

(a)  The  corky  layers  of  bark  do  not  contain  any  tan- 

nin and  are  usually  shaved  off.  In  Europe, 
young  oak  bark  not  having  any  cork  is  prefer- 
ably used. 

(b)  Fresh   bark   contains   on   an    average    45%    water 

and   shrinks  heavily  during  the   drying  process. 


FOREST    U TILIZA  TIOX 


99 


(c)  While  oak  bark  must  be  peeled  in  spring  imme- 

diately when  the  sap  begins  to  rise  (April-May), 
hemlock  bark  may  be  peeled  at  any  time  from 
May  to  September. 

(d)  Bark  peeling  season  for  oak  is  from  early  April 

to  the  end  of  June.     Trees  in  the  bottoms  peel 
earlier  than  those  higher  up. 
The  bark  on  the  uphill   side  of  a  tree  is  thinner 

than  the  bark  on  tlie  downhill  side. 
Trees  exposed  to  the  weather,  isolated,  on  unpro- 
tected   slopes,    have    short    boles   but    a    heavier 
bark  than  those  growing  under  the  reverse  con- 
ditions. 
Dying  trees  will  not  peel. 
Peeling  process. 

(a)  Girdle  the  tree  about  four  feet  above  the  ground; 

remove  bark  from  stump  and  roots;  fell  the 
tree  in  such  a  way  as  to  leave  the  bole  well 
raised  above  the  ground. 

(b)  Notch  (with  axe)  a  line  along  the  tree  and  rings 

around  the  tree  every  four  feet.  Have  two  men 
with  "spuds"  peel  the  ringed  sections,  and  see 
that  the  pieces  peeled  are  as  wide  as  possible  and. 
as  near  as  possible,  four  feet  long.  Large  pieces 
will  dry  well  and  will  save  expense  in  handling. 
Handling  costs  more  than  peeling. 

(c)  Lean    the    peeled    pieces    against    the    felled    bole, 

preferably  flesh  side  out,  as  high  above  ground 
as  possible,  and  see  that  the  air  circulates  freely 
around  them. 

(d)  See  that  the  bark  is  as  little  shaded  as  possible. 

Peel  before  leaves  are  out.  Never  leave  bark 
to  dry  in  a  moist  gully. 

(e)  Toward  evening,  turn  the  flesh  side  of  the  bark 

toward  the  object  supporting  it  so  as  to  protect 
it  from  dew.  The  expense  of  "curing"  is  so 
high,  however,  and  the  danger  of  spoliation  by 
rain  so  great,  that  bark  is  now  usually  placed 
at  once  "bark  side  out." 

(f)  Pile  the  bark  after  two  to  three  days,  provided  it 

is  not  wetted,  close  to  the  tree  in  loose  piles. 
These  piles  are  left  for  weeks  in  the  woods. 
Bark  is  sure  to  mold  if  a  rainy  season  sets  in. 
Free  access  of  air  greatly  reduces  the  danger  of 
damage. 

(g)  Finally   sled   the   bark,   by   hand    sleds,   cattle   or 

mules,  over  rough  trails  (best  grade  is  about 
20%)  to  the  Avagon  roads,  to  be  removed  to 
tannery   or   railroad. 


o  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

III.     Remarks. 

(a)  The    minimum    diameter    of    trees    and    branches 

peeled  depends  on  the  price  of  bark  and  the 
price  of  stumpage.  At  the  present  time,  far 
from  the  tannery,  it  does  not  pay  to  peel  pieces 
of  less  than  lo  inches  diameter. 

(b)  The   expense  of  the  harvest  of  oak  bark   is  per 

cord: 

Roads,  45c;   felling,  27c;  peeling,  57c;  piling, 

72c. 
On  the  average  a  man  will  peel  per  hour  from 
0.3  to  0.38  cord. 

(c)  Tannin    percentages    of    dressed    bark    are,    after 

Sargent : 

Mangrove    30    %  Burr  and  red  oak...  4.6% 

Sumac    18    %  Chestnut   6.7% 

Sassafras    root 58    %  Douglas  fir 13.8% 

German  oak 14    %  Eastern    hemlock 13.1% 

Cal.   Chest,   oak i6.^%  Western   hemlock... .  15.1% 

Live   oak 10.5%  Eastern    spruce 7.2% 

Chestnut  oak 6.2%  German    spruce 8    % 

Spanish    oak 8.6%  German    fir 6    % 

Black   oak 5.9%  Larch    7    % 

White   oak 6    %  Birch    4    % 

C.     Wood  extracts  in  particular. 

L  Tannin  extracts  are  manufactured  from  bark,  chestnut 
wood,  quebracho,  mangrove  and  oak.  Quebracho  wood 
contains  24%  of  tannin;  chestnut  wood  14%  (?)  of  tan- 
nin. 
II.  The  wood  is  shredded  in  a  chipper  and  the  tannin  ex- 
tracted (not  entirely)  by  steam  or  hot  water  under 
pressure.     The  liquid  obtained  is  condensed. 

III.  While   in   France   the    sappy  branches    and   young   shoots 

of  chestnut  are  preferred,  in  America  the  heart   wood 
and  especially  the  butt  is  preferred. 

IV.  The  wood  is  cut  4  feet  to  5  feet  long.     The  leather  trust 

use9  a  cord  of  160  cubic  feet  =  iJ4  cords  of  128  cubic 
feet. 
V.     Clear    water,    cheap    transportation    and    cheap    fuel    are 
required  for  successful  manufacture. 
Only     sound     wood    is     used ;     wormholes     in     chestnut, 
however,  do  not  interfere  with  its  value. 
VI.     Extracts    exposed    to   air    or    exposed   to   heat    spoil    rap- 
idly. 
VII.     Extracts    are    shipped    in    barrels    of    56    gallons    capacity 
or  in  tank  cars. 
VIII.     The  price  of  chestnut  extract  is  1J/2C  to  2c  per  pound.     At 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  loi 

a   price  of   i^c,   extract   is   cheaper  than   oak  bark   at 
$6  per  cord. 
IX.     One  cord  of  chestnut  wood  yields  500  pounds  of  extract 
containing  about  25%  tannin. 
The  methods  of  tannage  employed  nowadays  are: 
I.     Tanning  by  means  of  aluminum  salts. 
II.     Chamoying  by  means  of  certain  oils  or  acids  of  oils. 

III.  Tanning  by  salts  of  chromium. 

IV.  Vegetable  tanning,  using  the  wood  of  quebracho,  chestnut 

and  oak;  the  bark  of  various  oaks,  hemlock,  spruce, 
douglas  fir,  birch,  larch,  willows;  fruits,  cups  and  galls, 
i.  e.,  divi-divi,  catechu,  myrobalans ;  further,  the  leaves 
of  sumac.  Instead  of  using  these  vegetable  matters, 
their  watery  extracts  frequently  are  applied. 
Object  of  tanning. 

Tannage  tends  to  render  the  skin  permanently  supple  and  durable 
by  impregnation  with  tannin.  Aside  of  the  mechanical  imbedding 
of  molecules  by  impregnation,  a  chemical  action  ( fermentation  > 
may  take  place  in  the  case  of  bark  tannage,  due  to  the  presence 
of  microbes  in  the  bark,  chemically  binding  the  tannin  to  the 
albumen  and  gelatine  of  the  skin. 
Criteria  of  a  good  method  of  manufacture  are : 

I.  The  weight  of  the  leather  produced.  Since  leather  is 
sold  by  the  pound,  the  tanner  tries  to  press  into  the 
hide  the  maximum  amount  of  tannin,  tannin  being  much 
cheaper  than  hides. 
Beyond  a  certain  point,  this  extravagance  of  impregnation 
fails  to  increase  the  wearing  qualities  of  leather  and  is 
therefore  useless  to  the  buyer. 
II.  The  color  of  the  leather  produced  and  the  adaptability 
of  the  leather  for  coloring. 

III.  The  possibility  of  tannin  being  washed  out   through  wear 

and  tear.     From  chromium  tanned  leather  even  a  boil- 
ing process  will  not  remove  the  tannin. 

IV.  Quickness    in    filling    orders    and    amount    of    capital    re- 

quired. 

V.  Cheapness  of  manufacture.     The  best  leather  is  produced 

slowly  only  by  use  of  materials   rather  poor  in  tannin. 
Statistical  notes. 

I.  One  ton  (2,240  pounds)  of  hemlock  bark  will  tan  300 
pounds  of  sole  leather  or  400  pounds  of  upper  leather; 
4  to  5  pounds  of  good  oak  bark  are  required  to  produce 
I  pound  of  sole  leather. 
One  acre  of  hemlock  wood  is  said  to  yield  about  7  cords 
of  bark,  and  1,500  board  feet  of  timber  are  said  to  carry 
one  cord  of  bark. 
One  acre  of  hardwoods  will  yield  on  the  average  not 
over    one-half    cord    of    chestnut    oak    bark. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

One  cord  of  chestnut  wood  yields  one  barrel   of  extract. 

II.     The   price   of  bark  at  the    tanneries    ranges    from   $4  to- 

$16  per  cord.     The  cord  of  bark  is  not  measured,  but 

is  weighed,  2,240  pounds  being  called  a  cord. 

The   price    of   a   cord   of  chestnut   wood   f.    o.    b.   cars   is 

$2.50  to  $3. 

III.  One  hundred  pounds  of  dry  hides  yield  150  to  185  pounds 

of  leather ;  100  pounds  of  green  hides  yield  60  to  80 
pounds.  The  cost  of  the  hide  amounts  to  from  50%  to 
75%  of  the  cost  of  production. 

IV.  The  number  of  tanneries  in  the  United  States  has  greatly 

decreased  from  the  year  1880  (5,628  plants)  to  1900 
(1,306  plants).  The  small  tanneries  using  old  fashioned 
and  wasteful  methods  have  been  killed  by  the  large  and 
intelligently  conducted  modern  plants.  The  leather 
trust  controls  over  100  of  the  largest  plants. 

The  investment  of  capital  has  increased  from  $73,000,000 
in  1880  to  $174,000,000  in  1900. 

The  cost  of  raw  material,  $155,000,000,  and  the  value  of 
the  product,  $204,000,000,  have  remained  almost  unal- 
tered  during  the   same  period. 

V.  "Hides"  are  obtained  from  oxen,  cows  and  horses ;  "kips" 

from  yearling  cattle ;   "skins"   from   calves,  sheep,  goats 
and  pigs. 
Calf  skin  is  used  for  upper  leathers  of  shoes ;  sheep  skin 
for  cheap  shoes,  linings  and  gloves;  goat  skin  for  fine 
upper  leathers  and  gloves. 
Hides  often  are    split   and  the   so  called   grain   and  flesh 
splits  are  used  in  place  of  goat  and  calf  skin. 
Manufacture. 

The  old  fashioned  methods  used  from  time  immemorial  consisted 
of  rinsing  skins ;  scraping  off  the  flesh ;  treating  the  hair  with 
lime ;  placing  alternating  layers  of  crushed  oak  bark  and  of 
skins  in  rough  vats.  The  time  consumed  in  this  process  of 
manufacture  frequently  exceeded  a  year.  The  best  leather, 
however,  is  produced  in  this  way. 
The  modern  process  in  manufacturing  sole,  belt  and  harness  leather 
is: 

I.  Soak  in  soft  water  (heated  to  less  than  70°  F.)  to 
remove  salt  and  blood  and  to  restore  the  original  soft- 
ness and  pliability  of  the  skin. 
II.  Loosen  hair  by  either  liming  green  hide  in  milk  of  lime 
for  three  to  six  days  or  sweating  dry  hides  at  70°  in  a 
close  room,  inviting  a  partial  decomposition  of  the  hair 
sheath.  The  sweating  is  preferred  for  acid  hemlock 
tannage. 
III.  Remove  on  the  "beam,"  by  hand  or  machine,  flesh,  hair, 
blood,    lime,    dirt. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  lo.^ 

IV.  Prepare  the  liquors  in  the  leech  house  The  liquors 
contain  often  from  5%  to  6j^%  of  tannin  only.  Cold 
water  extracts  only  part  of  the  tannin  from  either  bark 
or  wood.  Very  hot  water  may  extract  all,  extractmg 
with  it,  however,  undesirable  coloring  matters  and  kill- 
ing the  fermenting  microbes. 
V.  The  tannage  itself  is  either  "Acid  hemlock  tannage"  or 
"Non-acid  hemlock,  oak  and  union  tannage." 

(a)  Acid  hemlock  tannage  consists  of: 

1.  Coloring  in  a  dilute  solution  of  tannin. 

2.  Placing  skin  for  2  to  4  days  in  a  sulphuric 

bath    (of   10%    to  30%)    by   which  the 
hide    is    swelled    to    a    great    thickness. 

3.  Placing  the  hide  in  a  strong,  concentrated 

solution   of   tannin. 

(b)  'Non-acid    hemlock,    oak    and    union    tannage 
(2-3  hemlock,  1-3  oak  bark)  : 

1.  Treat  the  hide,  to  begin  with,  with  very 

weak  solutions  of  tannin. 

2.  Gradually  increase  thereafter  the  concen- 

tration of  the  liquors.     If  a  hide   is  at 

once  hung  in  a  strong  liquor,  its  outer 

layers  only  are  tanned.     The  hide  will 

not  swell,  and  the  inner  layers  will   fail 

to  be  impregnated. 

VI.     The   operations  finishing  the  process  of  manufacture  are : 

Washing ;     scouring    off    the    so    called    bloom ;     stuffing 

(which  means  bathing  in  grease)  ;  drying;   dampening 

and    rolling   under   pressure ;    redrying ;    glossing   on    a 

brass  bed  by  brass  rollers. 

§  XXXIII.      CHARCOAL  BURNING   IN   CHARCOAL  KILNS. 

A.     Distillation  of  wood. 

Destructive  distillation  of  wood,  under   reduced  admission  of  air, 
yields   chemically  the   following   proportion  of  substances: 

I.     25  %  of  non-condensable  gases,  viz. : 

carbon  monoxide  acetylene 

carbon  dioxide  propene 

marshgas  ethylene 

11.     40%  of  condensable  vapors,  viz. : 

acetone  formic  acid 

furfurol  butyric  acid 

methyl  alcohol  crotonic  acid 

methylamine  capronic  acid 

acetic  acid  propionic  acid 


I04  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

III. 


io%  of  tarry  liquid,  viz. : 

tar 

ere sol 

creosote 

phlorol 

toluol 

naphtalene 

xylol 

pyrene 

cumol 

chrysene 

methol 

paraffin 

25%   of  solid   residue,   viz. : 

charcoal 

inorganic  salts 

IV. 


B.  The  kiln  process. 

In  the  kiln  process  of  destructive  distillation  of  wood,  all  of  the 

above   substances   are   allowed  to   escape    unused,   excepting  the 

solid  residue. 
Modern  technology  succeeds  in  catching  and  utilizing  several  of 

the  substances  given  under  II  and  III,  as  appears  from  Section 

XXXV. 
Still,    the  large'  majority   of  the    charcoal    commercially    used     is 

produced  by  the  old  and  wasteful  charcoal  kiln. 

C.  Characteristic  qualities  of  charcoal. 

I.     Charcoal  has  per  cubic  foot  a  larger  heating  power  than 

wood. 
II.     Owing  to  its  lesser  weight,  it  is  very  cheaply  transported. 
III.     Its  freedom  front  sulphur  and  phosphates  makes  it  valu- 
able for  metallurgic  work   (Swedish  charcoal  iron). 

D.  The  work  at  the  kiln. 

I.     For  use  in  kilns,  wood  must  be  thoroughly  seasoned,  free 
'from  heavy  knots.     The  billets  must  have  equal  length. 
The   kilns    should   be   charged   with   one    species   and   one 
assortment  of  wood  only  at  a  time. 
II.     The  work  consists  of: 

(a)  Preparation  of  ground  near  water  by  leveling  and 

hoeing  the  soil,  by  removing  roots  and  stones, 
by  raising  the  center  of  the  circle  to  be  occupied 
by  the  kiln  about  10  inches  over  its  circumfer-; 
ence. 

The  diameter  of  the  circle  is  from  15  feet  to  30 
feet  usually.  The  best  soil  is  loamy  sand, 
which  secures  proper  regulation  of  the  draft. 

The  site  should  be  protected  from  wind.  Twigs 
are  woven  into  a  wind  screen  on  the  windward 
side,  if  necessary. 

(b)  Erecting  the  "chimney"  by  placing  three  or  four 

poles  of  even  height  at  one  foot  distance  from  a 
center  pole,  fastening  them  together  to  the  cen- 
tral pole  by  withes. 
The  chimney  is  cylindrical  if  kiln  is  lighted  from 
above,  pyramidal  if  kiln  is  lighted  from  below. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  105 

The    chimney    is    filled    with    inflammable    sub- 
stances   (dried  twigs  etc.). 
(c.)     Constructing  the  kiln  proper. 

The  kiln  should  have  a  parabolic  form.  It  con- 
sists of  two  or  more  tiers  of  billets  placed 
almost  vertically,  the  bark  turned  outward,  the 
big  end  downward,  the  finest  pieces  near  the 
chimney  and  near  the  circumference,  the  largest 
pieces  half  way  between. 

These  tiers  are  topped  by  a  cap,  consisting  of 
smaller  billets  placed  almost  horizontally.  A 
cylindrical  chimney  extends  through  the  cap 
A  pyramidal  chimney  is  closed  by  the  cap. 

In  the  latter  case  a  lighting  channel  is  left  oh 
the  ground  running  radially  on  the  leeward  side 
from  the  bases  of  the  pyramidal  chimney  to  the 
circumference.  This  channel,  too,  like  the 
chimney,  is  filled  with  easily  inflammable  ma- 
terial. 

(d)  Stuffing  all    irregularities,   interstices,  cracks   etc. 

showing  on  the  outside  of  the  kiln  with  small 
kindling. 

(e)  Covering   the   kiln   by   two   draft-proof    layers    so 

as  to  exclude  or  restrict  the  admission  of  air. 

1.  The  green  layer,  ^  to  ^  feet  thick,  made 

of  green  branches,  grass,  weeds  and  moss. 

2.  The  earth  layer,  4  inches  to  6  inches  thick, 

consisting  of  wet  loam,  charcoal  dust 
etc. 

If  kiln  is  lighted  from  below,  a  belt  about 
I  foot  high  running  around  the  circum- 
ference on  the  ground  is  left  without 
earth  cover  until  fire  is  well  started. 

The  earth  layer  and  the  green  layer  are 
thoroughly  joined  by  beating  with  a  pad- 
dle. 

In  large  kilns  a  wooden  frame  (the  armor) 
consisting  of  T  sections  is  used  to  pre- 
vent the  cover  from  sliding  down. 

III.  The  kiln  is  lighted  early  in  the  morning  on  a  quiet  day. 

The  cylindrical  chimney  is  stuffed  up  with  wood  from 
above  and  then  closed  on  top  by  heavy  covering  after 
the  fire  is  well  started  in  the  cap. 
The  lighting  channel,  in  the  case  of  a  pyramidal  chim- 
ney, is  similarly  stuffed  and  closed. 

IV.  The  regulation  of  the  fire  and  of  the  draft  are  the  most 

important  functions  of  the  attendant  who  guides  the  fire 


io6  FOREST    UTILIZATIOX 

evenly  and  gradually  from  the  cap  down  to  the  bottom. 
The  means  of  guidance  are : 

(a)  To  check  draft,  increased  earth  cover. 

(b)  To  increase  draft,  holes  of  about  ij4  inches  diam- 

eter punctured  through  the  cover  with  the  pad- 
dle reversed. 

If  wind  is  strong,  all  holes  are  closed  and  earth 
cover  increased. 

Cracks  forming  in  the  cover  must  be  closed  at 
once. 

In  dry  weather  the  kiln  is  continuously  sprinkled. 

The  kiln  may  explode  if  cover  is  too  heavy  and 
draft  too  strong. 

The  color  of  the  smoke  escaping  through  the 
punctures  indicates  the  completion  of  the  char- 
ring process  above  the  holes  (transparent  bluish 
color). 

The  holes  are  then  closed,  and  another  row  of 
punctures  is  made  about  two  feet  below  the 
closed  holes. 

V.  Refilling  is   required  where  dells   are  forming  irregularly, 

while  the  kiln  gradually  collapses  to  half  of  its  original 
volume. 
For  refilling,  the  cover  over  the  dell  is  quickly  removed, 
all   holes   having  been   closed   beforehand,   and   the   dell 
is  rapidly  filled  with  fresh  wood. 

VI.  When  the  bottom  holes  show  the  proper  color  of  smoke, 

the  charring  process   is   completed.     All  holes  are  then 
closed  and  the  kiln  is  allowed  to  cool. 

The  duration  of  the  charring  process  is  from  six  days 
to  four  weeks,  according  to  size  of  kiln.  The  contents 
vary  between  four  and  sixty  cords. 
VII.  The  kiln  is  gradually,  beginning  at  the  leeward  side,  un- 
covered, and  the  crust  of  earth,  after  hoeing,  is  thrown 
on  again.  The  earth,  trickling  down,  quenches  the  fire. 
After  another  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours,  preferably 
at  night,  the  coal  is  taken  out  in  patches. 

Water  must  be  ready  at  hand,   since  fire  usually  breaks 
out  when  coal   is   drawn. 

E.  Statistical   notes. 

The  loss  of  weight  in  the  charring  process  is  75  %. 
The  loss  of  volume  is  50  %. 

In  America  charcoal  is  sold  by  the  bushel,  a  bushel  weighing  about 
25  lbs. 

F.  Appendix. 

In  Norway,   Sweden  and  Russia  kilns  of  trapezium  form  are  built 

of  peeled  logs  15  to  30  feet  long. 
The  lighting  channel  runs  lengthwise  on  the  ground. 


FOREST    L'TlLiZATION  107 

The  kiln   is   lighted   at    the   narrow    end   and   covered   with    green 

branches  and  earth  in  the  usual  manner. 
The  side  walls  being  almost  perpendicular,   the  cover  is   held  in 

place  by  slabs  spliced  against  the  walls.     No  refilling  is  required. 
Fire  is  conducted  from  the  top  of  the  kiln  at  the  big  end  toward 

the  bottom  of  the  kiln  at  the  little  end. 
The  process  lasts  six  to  eight  weeks. 
The  billets   are   placed   horizontally,    skidway   fashion,   the   largest 

billets  being  put  in  the  center  and  the  smallest  at  the  head  and 

at  the  foot  of  the  kiln. 

§  XXXIV.      LAMPBLACK    AND    BREWEr's    PITCH,    AND    THEIR    MANUFACTURE. 

The  former  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  patent  leather;    the  latter  for 
pitching  beer  barrels. 

A.  Raw  material  is  spruce  rosin. 

B.  The  process  consists  in  a  combined  melting  and  pressing  of  rosin. 

The  brewer's  pitch  runs  out  through  a  pipe  connecting  the  bases 
of  the  melting  vats  with  a  cooling  vat. 

C.  The  solid   residue   remaining  in  the   vats   is   slowly  burned 'in  an 

oven.  The  smoke  passes  through  a  cool  room  and  into  a  smoke 
room,  the  top  opening  of  which  is  covered  by  a  common  bag. 
In  this  room  pine  soot  or  lampblack  is  deposited.  The  draft 
is  regulated  by  the  attendant  according  to  the  shape  or  bulge 
which  the  bag  assumes  under  the  influence  of  the  smoke. 

D.  Some  turpentine  can  be  derived  at  the  same  time  if  the  vats  are 

closed  air  tight  and  if  the  escaping  gases  are  condensed  in  a 
worm. 

§  XXXV.       PYROLIGNEOUS       ACID,       WOOD        (mETHVL)        ALCOHOL,        AND       THEIR 
MANUFACTURE. 

A.  Raw  materials :    These  are,  preferably,  broad  leafed  species— beech, 

birch,  maple— which  must  be  thoroughly  seasoned. 
Heavy  stuff  is  preferable,  it  is  said,  to  small  stuff. 

B.  Distillation:    The  process  consists  in  a  dry  distillation  of  the  wood, 

differing  from  the  charcoal  kiln  process  merely  by  allowing  the 
gases  to  condense. 

The  distillation  takes  place  in  large  horizontal  iron  cylinders, 
usually  about  10  feet  long  by  5  feet  in  diameter,  into  which  the 
wood  is  run  on  steel  trucks.  After  closing  the  cap  of  the  cylin- 
ders (admission  of  air  reduces  the  output  of  pyroligneous  acid) 
the  cylinders  are  slowly  heated  to  a  redhot.  The  gases  forming 
are  led  through  long  worm  pipes  into  a  condenser. 

Not  all  of  the  gases  formed  allow  of  condensation.  The  uncon- 
densable  gases  are  conducted  to  the  fire  room. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  cylinder,  tar  is  forming  and  is  let  out  by  a 
system  of  pipes  into  a  collecting  basin.  Conifers  yield  more 
wood  tar  than  hardwoods. 


io8  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

C.  Further  treatment. 

The  gases,  condensed  to  a  liquid  a  large  proportion  of  which  is 
water,  are  then  treated  with  lime.  Lime  neutralizes  the  pyrolig- 
neous  acid,  forming  acetate  of  lime. 

The  liquid  is  then  redistilled,  wood  alcohol  going  over  first,  water 
next.  The  residue  is  boiled  down  in  open  pans  to  the  consist- 
ency of  a  sugar,  the  acetate  of  lime  of  commerce.  From  it  acetic 
acid  and  its  salts  are  derived  in  chemical  works. 

D.  The  output. 

One  hundred  volumes  of  air   dry  v/ood   furnish   up   to   forty-eight 

volumes  of  pyroligneous   acid. 
One    and    three-quarters    cords    of    beech    yield    2,650   pounds    of 

liquids,  25  gallons  of  tar  and  700  pounds  of  charcoal. 
The  2,650  pounds  of  liquids  furnish  200  pounds  of  acetate  of  lime 

and  9  gallons  of  82%  wood  alcohol. 

E.  Use :     Acetate   of  lime  is   used   by  the   chemical    industry   in   the 

manufacture  of  acetic  acid  and  of  the  salts  of  acetic  acid. 
Wood   alcohol    is   used   largely    in   the   manufacture   of   varnishes, 
.      dyes,  celluloid  and  especially  for  heating.     It  is  poisonous. 

§  XXXVI.      TRUE    OR    AETHYL    ALCOHOL    AND    ITS     MANUFACTURE. 

A.  Principle  underlying  the  process. 

Wood  boiled  under  pressure  in  the  presence  of  acids  yields  sugar 
(dextrose).  This  sugar,  freed  from  the  acid  admixed,  is  allowed 
to  ferment  under  the  influence  of  yeast  and  changed  into  aetliyl 
alcohol. 

B.  Raw  material :  • 
Cottonwoods,  linden,  yellow  poplar  are  said  to  be  superior  to  the 

heavy  hardwoods  as  well  as  to  conifers.  Possibly  chestnut  wood, 
from  which  the  tannin  is  withdrawn  in  tannin  extract  factories, 
may  answer  as  a  raw  material.  Unless  sawdust  is  available,  the 
wood  is  prepared,  sawed  and  pounded  as  if  it  were  to  be  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  chemical  fibre. 
C     Process : 

The  acid  used  does  not  enter  into  any  chemical  combination  with 
the  wood,  [t  merely  acts  by  its  presence  and  is  said  to  be  most 
eflicient  when  in  statu  nascendi.  Sulphuric  acid,  sulphurous 
acid,  hydrochloric  acid  or  a  mixture  of  these  and  similar  acids 
are  used. 

The  temperature  of  the  lead-coated  vats  containing  acid  and  wood 
is  gradually  raised  to  about  250°  F.  Hydraulic  pressure  is  also 
applied,  either  before  or  after  the  boiling  process.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  the  partial  conversion  of  cellulose  into  starch  seems  to 
be  due  to  pressure — not  to  boiling.  The  acid  is  then  neutralized 
and  the  temperature  reduced  to  about  85°  F.  By  the  addition  of 
j'east  (fed  on  phosphates  of  potash  and  of  ammonia)  a  violent 
fermentation    of  the   sugar   is   started,    ending   within   thirty-six 


FOREST    UTILIZATION.  ioq 

« 
hours,  when  the  yeast  has  dropped  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
vat  while  the  sugar  has  been  converted  into  alcohol. 
The  liquid  is  distilled  and  redistilled,  yielding  alcohol  of  any  de- 
sired concentration. 
The  wood  remaining — only  20%  of  its  weight  seems  convertible  into 
sugar — might  be  used  for  paper  manufacture  or  as  fuel  for  the 
boilers.     Classen   claims,   after   his   methods,   to  obtain    at  least 
30%    dextrose   from   absolutely   dry   wood. 
D.     Output. 

One  hundred  pounds  of  dry  wood  are  said  to  actually  yield  about 
5  pounds  of  96  %  alcohol.  The  process  of  manufacture  is  far 
from  being  perfect.  A  number  of  chemists,  notably  Classen, 
are  hard  at  work  to  further  improve  and  to  cheapen  the  process. 
Cheap  alcohol — a  fuel,  a  source  of  light  and  a  source  of  tech- 
nical energy — manufactured  from  wood  will  be  a  boon  for 
household,  industries  and  forest. 

§    XXXVII.      ARTIFICIAL    SILK    MADE    FROM    CELLULOSE. 

A.  History. 

Artificial  silk  was  first  prepared  by  Hilaire  de  Chardonet  in  1884. 
Today  many  patents  and  numerous  factories  to  exploit  them 
exist  in  the  old  country. 

B.  Process. 

There  are  two  main  processes  in  use,  namely : 

I.  A  solution  of  nitrocellulose,  a  compound  of  nitric  acid 
and  cellulose  in  ether  or  alcohol,  is  pressed  through 
minute  capillary  pipes,  appearing  in  long,  silky  threads. 
Additional  chemicals  (methods  of  Vivier,  Lehner)  re- 
duce or  entirely  destroy  the  inflammability  of  the 
product. 
II.  Pure  cellulose  is  readily  dissolved  in  a  few  chemicals 
only.notably  in  concentrated  copper  oxide  dissolved  in 
ammonia.  This  solution  forms  a  waxy  mass  which  is 
pressed  through  minute  capillary  openings  and  appears 
in  the  form  of  supple,  long,  silky  threads,  immediately 
entering  a  bath  of  sulphuric  acid.  Here  cellulose  is  set 
free,  now  a  solid  thread,  while  blue  vitriol  and  sul- 
phate of  ammonia  result  at  the  same  time.  The  threads 
are  spun  exactly  like  threads  of  natural  silk. 

C.  Qualities  of  product. 

Artificial  silk  has  an  exquisite  shine  and  is  easily  colored  before 
the  pressing  process.  The  tearing  strength  of  silk  obtained  from 
nitrocellulose,  however,  is  now  only  33%  of  that  of  true  silk, 
its  toughness  only  45^- 

Artificial  silk  is  used  on  a  daily  increasing  scale  in  silk  weavings. 
New  methods  and  modifications  of  manufacture  continuously 
increase  its  chances  as  a  substitute  for  natural  silk. 


no  J-OREST    UTILIZATIOy 

§      XXXVIII.      MANUFACTURE    OF    OXALIC    ACID    FROM     WOOD. 

A.  Principle. 

Any  wood  heated  to  about  400°  F.  in  the  presence  of  caustic  sub- 
stances yields,  among  many  other  products  of  disintegration,  a 
goodly  percentage  of  oxalic  acid. 

B.  Raw  material. 

Any  wood  finely  ground  or  pulverized,  and  especially  sawdust  and 
mill  refuse,  is  well  adapted  to  the  process — oak  as  well  as  beech, 
pine,  chestnut  etc.  Cottonwood  is  said  to  be  rather  poor  as  a 
raw  material. 

C.  Process. 

A  mixture  of  caustic  soda,  caustic  potash  and  sawdust  is  heated, 
under  continuous  stirring,  in  open  pans  (^  foot  deep  and  6  feet 
square)  by  superheated  steam  or  air.  The  temperature  is  grad- 
ually raised  to  480°  (not  over)  F.,  remaining  at  that  figure  for 
about  lyi  hours.  The  melted  mass,  consisting  of  oxalate  of 
sodium  and  of  carbonate  of  potassium,  is  thrown  into  water  and 
allowed  to  cool,  when  the  oxalate  forms  a  dough  of  minute  crys- 
tals. This  dough  is  freed  from  water  by  centrifugal  power,  then 
treated  with  lime  and  thereafter  with  sulphuric  acid,  with  the 
result  that  gypsum  is  precipitated  from  a  solution  of  oxalic  acid. 

D.  Output. 

One  hundred  parts  of  wood  yield  up  to  80  parts  of  oxalic  acid. 
The  quantity  of  output  depends  on  proper  mixture  of  caustic  soda 
and  potash,  and  on  proper  regulation  of  the  temperature. 

§  XXXIX.      THE   MAPLE   SUGAR   INDUSTRY. 

In  the  sap  of  all  broad  leafed  species  considerable  quantities  of  sugar 
are  found.  This  quality  is  commercially  important,  however,  only  in  the 
case  of  hard  maple.  In  1900  there  were  produced  51,000,000  pounds  of 
maple  sugar  and  about  3,000,000  gallons  of  maple  syrup. 

New  York,  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  lead  this  industry.  Seven- 
teen percent  of  all  granulated  sugar  made  in  the  United  States  is  obtained 
from  the  maple  tree. 

Vermont  protects  its  maple  sugar  industry  from  counterfeits  by  State 
inspection  and  official  stamp. 
A.     Tapping  the  trees. 

I.     Time.     End  of  January  and  February  is  best. 

Cold  nights  and  hot  days  necessary  for  best  results. 
II.  A  hole  is  made,  with  an  auger,  ^  inch  to  ^  inch  in 
diameter,  slightly  slanting  towards  the  entrance,  to  a 
depth  of  2  inches  to  8  inches,  at  a  point  2  to  3  feet  above 
ground.  Holes  on  north  side  of  tree  said  to  be  most 
productive.  Holes  10  feet  above  ground  do  not  yield 
any  sap. 

III.  A  wooden  or  galvanized  iron  spout    (3  to  8  inches  long 

with  a  hook  at  the  end  to  suspend  the  bucket)   is  in- 
serted into  the  hole. 

IV.  Buckets   are  emptied   at  least   daily,   as   the   sap   ferments 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  in 

easily.  The  sap,  poured  into  large  tanks  resting  on 
sleds,  is  quickly  taken  to  the  sugar  shed.  Buckets  must 
car*  fully  be  kept  clean. 
V.  Production  per  tree  is  4  lbs.  of  sugar  per  season.  The  sea- 
son lasts  not  over  a  month.  The  trees  are  not  affected 
by  tapping,  either  in  quality  or  vitality.  A  new  hole  is 
made  every  year. 
B.     Boiling  process. 

Immediately  after  gathering,  the  sap  is  boiled  down  in  open  pans. 
I.     Manufacture  of  sugar. 

Syrup  is  boiled  to  the  consistency  of  wax,  poured  iuto 
forms  and  stirred  to  prevent  formation  of  large  crystals. 
Crystalization   takes   about    12   hours.     Fifty   quarts  of 
sap  yield  2  lbs.  of  sugar. 
11.     Manufacture  of  syrup. 

The  sap  is  boiled  down  to  a  lesser  consistency  and  at  once 
canned  or  bottled. 

§  XL.      NAV.\L    STORES,    THEIR    PRODUCTION    .\ND    MANUFACTURE. 

A.  Statistics. 

In  1902  the  United  States  produced  600.000  bbls.  of  turpentine 
worth  $13,200,000;  2,100,000  bbls.  of  rosin  or  colophany  worth 
$4,200,000. 

One  acre  of  orchard  yields  in  three  years'  tapping  25  gallons  of 
spirits  of  turpentine,  worth  $8,  and  800  pounds  of  rosin  worth 
$4,  at  a  labor  expense  and  manufacturing  expense  of  $10.  Thus 
a  profit  of  $2  per  acre  is  left  to  the  owner. 

Orchards  are  leased  actually  at  $1  to  $2  per  acre  for  three  years. 

B.  Methods  of  orcharding. 

I.     Southern  method   (also  Austrian  method). 

(a)  Species  used:    Longleaf  pine  (used  now  down  to 

8  inches  in  diameter);  Cuban  pine;  echinata 
(small  trees  preferred)  ;  after  W.  W.  Ashe, 
also  Taeda ;    in  Austria,  Pinus  Austriaca. 

(b)  Operations  of  the  first  season: 

1.  Boxing:     The    tree    is   cut    into,   8   inches 

above  ground,  with  a  narrow,  thin- 
bladed  "boxing  axe."  Usually  two  boxes 
to  a  tree,  on  opposite  sides.  Width  of 
box  is  14  inches ;  depth  horizontally  4 
inches,  vertically  7  inches ;  height  of  the 
tip  above  the  lip  about  10  inches.  Box- 
ing takes  place  in  January  and  Feb- 
ruary. 

2.  Cornering:      Immediately      after      boxing 

the  tree  is  "cornered."  Cornering  im- 
plies the  removal  of  two  triangular 
strips   of  bark  and   sapwood   above   the 


FOREST    UTILIZATION 

box,  running  as  high  as  the  tip.  The 
resuhing  grooves  act  as  gutters  for  the 
rosin.  • 

3.  Hacking:    Hacking  or  chipping  begins  in 

early  March  and  is  continued  until 
October.  The  "hack"  is  a  bent-bladed, 
sharp  instrument  which  is  used  obliquely 
across  the  tree,  producing  a  series  of 
V  shaped  grooves  in  the  outer  layers  of 
sapwood  above  the  box  and  the  corners. 
The  points  of  the  Vs  stand  in  a  vertical 
line  over  the  tip.  The  surface  thus 
scarified  is  called  a  face.  The  chipping 
removes  ^  inch  of  sapwood.  The  face 
of  the  first  season  is  from  18  inches  to 
24  inches  high  and  always  remains  as 
wide  as  the  box. 

4.  Collecting:     The   virgin    dip   accumulating 

in    the   box    during   the    first    season    is 
dipped    out    seven    or    eight    times ;    the 
rosin,   hardened   on  the   face,   is  scraped 
off. 
(c)     Operations  of  subsequent  seasons : 

In  the  following  seasons,  the  face  is  gradually  car- 
ried upward  until  the  working  becomes  unprofit- 
able. 
The  output  of  dip,  now  called  yellow  dip,  decreases 
from  year  to  year,  with  the  increase  of  distance 
between  freshly  hacked  face  and  box.    The  scrape 
preponderates  over  the  dip. 
Longleaf  pine  may  be  tapped  for  an  indefinite  num- 
ber of  years,  if  intermissions  of  a  few  years  per- 
mit the  trees  to  recuperate. 
French  method  (Hugues  system). 

(a)  Species   used:    Pinus  maritima,   which   grows   on 

the   sand   dunes    fringing  the   western    shore   of 
France,  is  exclusively  treated  to  this  method. 

(b)  Operations : 

R  Remove  the  rough  bark  around  the  tree  to 
prevent  pieces  of  bark  from  falling  onto 
the  face. 

2.  In    early    March    make    a    scar    close    to 

the  ground  4  inches  wide  and  1%  feet 
high,  removing  2/5  inch  of  sapwood.  The 
instrument  used  is  a  bent-bladed, 
crooked-handled  axe. 

3.  Insert   a   toothed   collar,   made  of   zinc  or 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  113 

iron,  into  an  incision  cut  with  a  sharp 
curved  knife  at  the  bottom  of  the  scar. 

4.  Hang  a  glazed  earthen  pot  on  a  nail  im- 

mediately under  the  lip  of  the  collar. 
The  pot  is  sJ^  inches  deep,  5>^  inches 
wide  at  top  and  3  inches  wide  at  bottom. 

5.  Extend    the    4-inch    scar    week     by     week 

upward  until  October,  taking  each  time 
a  thin  layer  of  sapwood  off  the  old  face. 
The  final  length  of  the  face  reached  in  a 
number  of  years  is  up  to  30  feet. 

6.  The  collar  and  cup  are  moved  each  spring 

to  the  top  of  the  preceding  year's  face. 
The  nailhole  in  the  pot  allows  rainwater 

to   run   off,    since    water   is   lighter   than 

crude  rosin. 
The  pot  is  often  covered  with   a  wooden 

lid,  the  face  itself  by  rough  boards. 
III.     Dr.    Charles    H.   Herty's    gutter  method. 

(a)  Applicability: 

The  method  can  be  applied  to  bled  or  unbled  trees. 
It  has  been  tried  by  the  Bureau  since  1902  in  the 
Southern  pineries. 

(b)  Operations  of  the  first  season: 

1.  Use  cornering  axe  to  provide  two  flat  faces 

8  inches  above  the  ground  forming  an 
angle  of  about  120° ;  each  is  half  as  high 
as  long;  total  width  about  14  inches. 
Two  men,  right  and  left  handed,  cut 
3,000  faces  per  day. 

2.  Make    incisions   at   base   of    faces,    one   at 

least  an  inch  higher  than  the  other.  Tool 
used  is  a  broad  axe  having  a  12-inch 
straight  blade. 

3.  Insert   galvanized   sheet   iron   gutters   into 

the  incisions.  Gutters  are  2  inches  wide 
and  6  inches  to  12  inches  long,  bent  to 
proper  form  (angle  120°)  by  a  tilting- 
bench  contrivance.  The  lower  gutter  pro- 
jects by  il/z  inch  over  the  mouth  of  the 
upper,  the  projection  forming  a  spout. 

4.  Fasten  an  earthen  cup  of  a  capacity  equal- 

ing that  of  a  box  (5^  in.  x  i^i  in.  x  7 
in.)  on  the  side  of  the  upper  gutter  m 
such  a  way  that  its  rim  stands  ^  inch 
below  the  spout,  and  that  the  nailhole 
is  as  far  as  possible  from  the  spout.  The 


114  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

nailhole  should  be  two  inches  below  the 
rim  of  the  cup. 
5.     Chipping  as    in   method   I ;     cups   emptied 
from  time  to  time  into  collecting  buckets. 

(c)  Operations  of  subsequent  seasons: 

Next  season,  the  uppermost  chipped  channels  are 
used  for  the  insertion  of  the  gutters.  The  cup 
is  fastened  at  the  upper  end  of  the  face  made  in 
the  previous  year. 

(d)  Equipment: 

Equipment  required  for  10,000  boxes  is:  10,500 
cups  (cost  iJ4c  each  =  $131.25)  ;  gutter  strips 
made  from  1,886  pounds  of  galvanized  iron, 
29  gauge  (cost  of  material  $103.27;  cutting  and 
shaping  gutters  cost  $4)  ;  10,000  six-penny 
nails  (costing  $1.05)  ;  freight  charges  are  about 
$30 ;  labor  at  the  trees  requires  an  outlay  of  $80. 

(e)  Results: 

Dr.  Herty  justly  claims  financial  superiority  of  this 
method  over  the  old  Southern  method,  due  to  an 
increased  output  of  turpentine. 
C.     Manufacture  of  naval  stores  from  pine  products. 
I.     From  rosin  of  longleaf  pine  etc. 

(a)  Melting  crude  rosin  in  order  to  separate  from  the 

liquid  constituents  pieces  of  bark,  wood  and  a 
pitchy  residue. 

(b)  Dry  distillation  of  the  latter  in  a  copper  distilling 

apparatus,  heated  usually  from  an  open  fire  be- 
neath the  apparatus;  but  preferably  from  steam 
of  high  temperature. 

(c)  Cooling  of  gases  in  a  worm  and  condenser  where 

there  are  obtained: 

1.  An    upper    layer   of   turpentine     which     is 

redistilled. 

2.  A   middle   layer   of  rosin    (colophany)    of 

a  light  yellow  color,  which  is  sifted  re- 
peatedly  into  different  qualities. 

3.  Water   forming  the  lowest  layer. 

II.,    From  roots,  branches  and  stumps  of  pine,  the  stumps  to 
be  dug  out  a  few  years  after  the  trees  are  cut. 

(a)  Cut  the  wood  into  kindling. 

(b)  Fill   it    (from  above)    into  a  gasproof  brick  still- 

room,  15  feet  high  and  6  feet  through,  holding 
from  5  to  6  cords  of  kindling.  The  top  and 
bottom  of  the  still  are  funnel  shaped  and  pro- 
vided with  pipes.  The  still  is  surrounded  by 
•     the  fire  room. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  115 

(c)  After  closing   the   upper   funnel,  apply  heat   very 

gradually.  Within  24  hours  turpentine  begins 
to  escape  through  the  top  pipe  which  leads 
through  a  worm  into  a  condenser.  When  the 
gases  appear  dense  and  thick,  the  top  pipe  is 
closed  and  the  gases  (now  largely  containing 
pyroligneous  acid)  are  forced  through  the  bot- 
tom pipe  to  be  condensed  in  another  con- 
denser. Light  (at  a  later  stage  dark)  tar  is  let 
out  through  this  same  pipe.  The  fires  are 
checked  when  the  tar  begins  to  flow  freely. 

(d)  The  process  takes,  for  heating,  3  days;    for  cool- 

ing, 8  days.  Charcoal  is  left  in  the  still  room. 
Proper  regulation  of  temperature  is  most  essen- 
tial. 

(e)  One   cord   of  pine   kindling  yields   about  25   gal- 

lons of  tar,  I  to  i^  gallons  of  machine  oil,  lA 
to    I    gallon    of    turpentine,    some    pyroligneous 
acid  and  >^  cord  of  charcoal. 
III.     Uses  of  naval  stores: 

(a)     Spirits  of  turpentine  are  used  for  colors,  paints, 

varnishes,  asphalt  laying,  solvent  for  rubber, 
(]))     Colophany  is  used  for  glue  in  paper  manufacture, 
varnishes,   soap  making,   soldering,   manufacture 
of  sealing  wax. 
(c)     Wood  tar  made  of  conifers  is  lighter  than  water 
(owing    to    spirits    of    turpentine    therem    con- 
tained) ;    made   of   broadleafed   is  heavier  than 
water.  It    contains    tolnol,    xylol,    cumol,    naph- 
talin,    paraffin,    phenol,    kreosol,    pyrogalol    and 
many  other  carbohydrates. 
Caustic   soda  causes  the  solution  of  the  aromatic 
alcohols  contained  in  wood  tar.    From  this  solu- 
tion true  creosote  is  derived. 
Dry  distillation  of  wood  tar  yields : 

1.  Light  wood  oil ; 

2.  Heavy  wood  oil ; 

3.  Shoemaker's  pitch,  a  residue. 

Conifers  other  than  pines  are  used  only  to  a  limited  degree  in  the 
manufacture  of  naval  stores. 

(a)  The  larch  yields  the  so-called  Venetian  turpentine, 

which  is  obtained  by  boring  (with  V/z  inch 
auger)  a  deep  hole  into  the  heart  of  the  tree. 
The  hole  is  closed  by  a  plug.  After  a  year  the 
turpentine,  entirely  filling  the  hole,  is  extracted. 

(b)  Spruce  was  tapped  for  turpentine  on  a  large  scale 

in  the  old  country  before  the  orchards  of  the 
South  were  developed.     Only  scrape  is  obtained 


ii6  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

from  long  and  narrow  faces.  The  scar  invites 
red  rot,  badly  checking  the  value  of  the  timber. 
The  output  in  ten  years  is,  per  acre,  7^  lbs.  of 
crude  spruce  rosin, 
(c)  Fir  has  rosin  ducts  only  in  the  bark.  Blisters  or 
bubbles  of  the  bark  filled  with  rosin  yield  the  so- 
called  "Canada  balsam"  and  "Strassburg  tur- 
pentine," collected  in  tin  cans.  The  blisters  are 
opened  with  the  rim  of  the  can. 

§  XLI.      VANILLIN. 

Vanillin,  a  substitute  for  vanilla,  which  has  caused  the  price  of  bean 
vanilla  to  decline  rapidly  and  permanently,  is  obtained  from  spruce  (fresh 
cut)  'by  removing  the  bark  and  collecting  the  sap  either  with  sponges  or 
broad-bladed  knives.  The  sap  is  then  boiled,  strained  and  condensed  in 
the  vacuum  pan  to  one-fifth  of  its  former  volume. 

In  the  cooling  room,  crystals  of  coniferine  are  formed  from  the  syrup. 
Coniferine,  when  treated  with  potassium  bichromate  and  sulphuric  acid, 
is  oxydized  into  vanillin.  The  syrup  obtained  as  a  by-product  is  distilled 
and  used  in  the  manufacture  of  alcoholic  beverages. 

Eighty  gallons  of  sap  yield  one  gallon  of  coniferine. 

§  XLIL      BEECHNUT    OIL. 

Mast  years  of  beech  occur,  according  to  climate,  every  3  to  8  years. 
The  nuts  are  gradually  dried,  slightly  roasted,  peeled  and  cleaned  of 
shells;  then  either  ground,  applying  moderate  heat,  or  pounded  in  mills 
by  stampers.  The  oil  oozing  out  is  strained  and  placed  in  a  cool  room 
(in  earthenware  vessels),  where  the  clean  oil  forms  a  top  layer  to  be 
poured  off  gradually. 

The  residue  is  pressed  into  cakes  and  used  as  feed  for  stock. 

Two  hundred  pounds  of  dry  beechnuts  yield  5  quarts  of  oil. 


§  XLIIL      PINE   LEAF   HAIR. 

Pine  leaf  hair,  or  curled  pine  straw,  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  wool 
and  cotton  in  upholstering,  carpets  etc.     The  stuff  is  mothproof. 

Three  hundred  to  400  pounds  of  needles  yield  100  pounds  of  wool. 

The. price  is  $3  to  $12  a  cwt.,  according  to  the  quality. 

A  by-product  is  known  as  pine  needle  extract,  used  by  the  perfumer. 

The  process  of  manufacture  consists  of: 

Drying  the  freshly  cut  needles;  steaming;  fermentation;  crushing 
and  disfibreing  in  pounding  mills ;  repeated  washing  of  the  feltlike  mass ; 
loosening  on  sets  of  oscillating  sieves ;  drying  and  bleaching.  The  product 
has  a  greenish  or  yellowish  color.  It  is  called  "pine  hair"  in  North 
Carolina,  where  the  industry,  now  extinct,  promised  a  successful  career 
twenty  years  ago. 


FOREST    UTILIZATION  117 

§  XLIV.      IMPREGNATION    OF    WOOD. 

Impregnation  tends  to  increase  the  durability  of  wood  by  injecting  an 
antiseptic  liquid  and  may  mean  a  desirable  or  undesirable  change  of  color, 
and  in  some  cases  fireproofing.     Little  is  known  about  the  latter. 

Four  principles  may  be  applied: 

A.  Immersion : 

I.  The  oldest  method  used  was  immersion  in  a  strong  solu- 
tion of  salt.  European  railroads  place  ties  for  eight  days 
in  large  tanks  filled  with  a  light  solution  of  corrosive 
sublimate.  No  other  work  required.  The  method  is 
called  "Kyanizing."  Drawbacks  are  that  the  liquid  is 
washed  out  on  wet  ground;  that  spikes  do  not  hold  well 
in  the  timber.  Expense  per  cubic  foot,  6^c. 
II.     "Metalized''  wood  is  obtained  as  follows: 

Immerse  the  wood  in  a  solution  of  sulphate  of  iron ;  then 
smear  the  wood  with  chloride  of  calcium.  In  the  outer 
layers  of  the  wood  gypsum  -(sulphate  of  lime)  is  formed 
together  with  chloride  of  iron.  Such  wood  is  impermea- 
ble to  water  and  has  a  metallic  shine. 

B.  Boiling: 

I.  Boiling  in  salt  water  or  in  a  solution  of  borax  seems  to  be 
a  method  rarely  practiced.  Boiling,  however,  with  ex- 
haust steam,  when  a  black  juice  is  forced  out  of  the  log, 
is  frequently  seen  abroad. 
In  the  latter  case  the  log  is  practically  steam  dried. 
II.  "Franks"  mixture  consists  of  95  %  liquid  manure  and  5  % 
of  lime.  It  is  pumped  into  large  vats,  within  which  the 
wood  is  boiled  for  3  to  8  days.  The  liquid  enters  to  a 
depth  of  about  3  inches  and  darkens  the  wood  to  a  ma- 
hogany tint. 
III.  A  method  called  "siderizing"  injects  by  a  boiling  process 
a  solution  of  copperas.  The  wood  is  then  dried,  and 
liquid  glass  (a  hot  solution  of  silicate  of  aluminum) 
smeared  on  the  surface.  By  a  chemical  reaction  silicates 
of  iron  are  formed  in  the  outer  layers,  which  are  insolu- 
ble in  water  and  resist  decomposition.  The  wood  at  the 
same  time  obtains  a  beautiful  gloss. 

C.  Use  of  hydrostatic  pressure : 

A  solution  of  sulphate  of  copper  (blue  vitriol)  is  used  after 
Boucherie.  It  is  kept  in  a  tank  30  ft.  to  40  ft.  above  ground. 
The  timber  must  be  fresh  cut  with  the  bark  on  and  is  spread 
on  a  rough  log-deck.  At  the  big  end  of  each  stick  a  ring  made 
of  rope  is  held  in  place  by  a  board  or  heading  nailed  to  the  log. 
A  hose  connected  with  the  tank  injects  the  liquid  into  the  small 
cleft  formed  between  log  and  heading.  After  a  few  hours,  drops 
of  vitriol  appear  at  the  small  end,  showing  that  the  process  is 
complete.  The  pressure  being  slight,  only  the  outer  sappy  layers 
are  impregnated.     This  method  is  largely  used  abroad,  often  in 


Ii8  FOREST    UTILIZATION 

the  woods  thernselves,  for  telegraph  poles  of  pine,  spruce,  fir  etc. 
Expense  per  cubic  foot,  4c. 

D.  Use  of  steam  pressure : 

The  wood  is  dried  thoroughly,  then  placed  on  small  steel  cars  run- 
ning into  long  cylinders  or  boilers,  closed  by  a  strong  head.  A 
vacuum  pump  removes  the  sap  water  and  causes  a  vacuum  to 
form  in  the  wood  itself.  Then  an  antiseptic  liquid  is  pressed  into 
the  boilers;    temperature  of  liquid  is  150°  to  200°. 

The  liquids  used  are: 

(a)  Chloride  of  zinc. 

(b)  Creosote  or  rather  cheap  coal  tar  oils. 

(c)  Gases  of  tar  oils   (so  called  thermo-carbolization). 

The  creosoting  method  is  used  for  ties  and  paving  blocks.  Creo- 
soted  timber  holds  nails  well ;  creosote  is  not  washed  out  by 
rain;  on  the  other  hand,  the  darkened  color  of  the  wood  is 
sometimes  objectionable.  It  is  claimed  that  creosoting  in  the 
United  States  has  failed,  probably  because  an  extravagant  amount 
of  the  liquid  has  been  pressed  into  the  timber.  In  Germany  the 
expense  per  tie  is  only  63c  as  against  $1.25  in  the  United  States. 

E.  Results : 

Heart  wood  is  not  as  permeable  and  hence  not  as  impregnable  as  sap 
wood.  Maple,  birch,  beech,  spruce,  sappy  pine  etc.  are  more 
benefited  by  impregnation  than  white  oak,  longleaf  pine  etc. 
Generally  the  duration  of  life  of  impregnated  ties  is  increased 
at  the  following  ratio :  Beech,  400% ;  yellow  pine  and  oak, 
200%  ;  spruce,  50%. 

Obviously,  every  additional  pound  of  preservative  pressed  into  the 
fibre  has  a  lesser  effect  on  the  lastingness  of  the  wood  than  the 
preceding  pound.  For  every  woody  species  the  limit  must  be 
found  at   which  additional   impregnation   proves   unremunerative. 


